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News on Rod Beaton (includes update from Maria Beaton)

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by Smasher_Sloan, Sep 11, 2009.

  1. Dyno

    Dyno Well-Known Member

    Re: Sad news on Rod Beaton

    Terrible, terrible news. Rod was always a good guy when I dealt with him.
     
  2. Moderator1

    Moderator1 Moderator Staff Member

    Re: Sad news on Rod Beaton

    Awful. Truly a good guy. One of my most fond memories is of a dinner Rod and I shared in Atlanta during the 1993 pennant race.
     
  3. Cousin Jeffrey

    Cousin Jeffrey Active Member

    Re: Sad news on Rod Beaton

    they had history. leyland tried to ban beaton was from the pirates clubhouse in 91 or 92, i believe, for some unflattering story.
     
  4. cranberry

    cranberry Well-Known Member

    Re: Sad news on Rod Beaton

    Wow. I knew Rod's health had been deteriorating in recent years but I didn't realize it had reached this stage. Comfort and peace to him and his family...
     
  5. Drip

    Drip Active Member

    Re: Sad news on Rod Beaton

    Rod's been in bad shape for a while. Didn't know it was terminal. Bonds was a pussy back then and if my memory is correct, this feud dated back to the days in Pittsburgh. Rod was and is still the man. God's best to him and the family. He's a good guy and was always helpful to me and many others.
     
  6. Boomer

    Boomer New Member

    Re: Sad news on Rod Beaton

    This is Maria replying. Thank you all for the read. I'm printing it out and will read most of them to him when I see him next. Rod will be 58 September 28. He's actually doing well these past two weeks and is again eating (he was not for a long time). But he can no longer read, has MLB channels on most of the time or ESPN, does not understand football, but knows and talks about baseball and hockey. Predicts the Red Sox will not win the World Series this year, when I asked him what he thought of the upcoming Fall Classic. No playoffs? I asked. Oh, sure, he tells me, they'll play, but they won't make it. the Marlins? Gives me that look: fogedaboutit! The Phillies? Shakes his head on that and won't say more. He can barely talk so that was amazing. He can only walk a few steps before his legs won't carry him. He is dying. He doesn't know...but then again, he knows. It could be weeks, or months, but it will not be long. While he has revived for now, he could crash again and not get up. Anyone wanting to know more is welcome to email me at maria.beaton@verizon.net or call me at 703-403-7663.
    To visit or send letters (don't discuss his disease. Just tell him you wish him well and miss him): Rod Beaton
    Emeritus of Arlington, Room 213
    3821 Wilson Blvd.
    Arlington, VA 22203
    Your replies sent me way back to a much happier time and while it was sad to go there, it was still good to remember.
    Barry Bonds was a big part of his life from time to time and Leyland too. I actually had to tell Leyland to quit calling us at home or keep his calls professional as he was becoming abusive. He pisses me off and that only made Rod pursue him as a story all the more. Struck a nerve there!
    As for Barry, he turned out to be a major coincidence factor, a year or so after the locker room incident, which Rod, by the way, maintained was no big deal and he was becoming embarrassed at the attention. A Barry Bonds foul ball one day hit Rod's laptop in the press box in NY and Rod was sent home as he could no longer cover the game. His laptop exploded. So instead of picking him up at the airport as we usually did, the boys and I (boys were 2 and 5), showed up at the Roslyn USAT HQ at the time and much to our surprise, Bill Clinton, as a presidential candidate, was in the building and came out to shake our hands and foot. By foot I mean that our oldest, Kyle, was sitting on Rod's shoulders to get a good view of the candidate, and Bill Clinton came over. Couldn't shake Rod's hands as they were holding Kyle's feet to keep him balanced. So Bill Clinton shook Kyle's foot and said, "Hi, I'm Bill Clinton." Kyle, totally unconcerned about who this man was, was delighted and replied simply, "Hi, I'm Kyle and I'm taller than you." And he was, sitting on his Dad's shoulders. That got a chuckle as only a small child can spontaneously create.
    Many years later, as Rod was looking worse and worse with Parkinson's, and on his last baseball season, so that was 2002 or 3 or 4, was stuck in a couch and could not get up. No one noticed he was struggling to get up from the couch until Barry Bonds walked by and said, "You need some help?" And he gave Rod a good pull and helped him up, then looked at him a little more closely and remarked, "You don't look too good. What's wrong?" When Rod told him he had Parkinson's, Barry shook his head and told him, "That sucks. I'm sorry." And Rod told me he meant it. I refused to believe Barry could be that nice spontaneously, but Rod was adamant that Barry has a heart and showed it. He was visibly touched by Barry's gesture.
    Your stories of Rod are great. It will do him a lot of good to remember along with you. Thank you.
    Maria
     
  7. Elliotte Friedman

    Elliotte Friedman Moderator Staff Member

    Re: Sad news on Rod Beaton/Update from Maria Beaton

    This topic just got stickied for awhile.

    Maria, please keep up updated. Thank you.
     
  8. Steak Snabler

    Steak Snabler Well-Known Member

    Re: Sad news on Rod Beaton

    Wow. Terrible news.

    Never met Rod personally, but his USA Today columns, notes and features were a must-read back for me back when that was one of the few places a rural Mississippi boy could get in-depth national baseball news.
     
  9. imjustagirl

    imjustagirl Active Member

    Re: Sad news on Rod Beaton

    Maria,

    My best to you, your children and Rod in this difficult time. Thank you for taking the time to come here and post.
     
  10. Drip

    Drip Active Member

    Maria, I've never had the honor of meeting you but I must say that Rod has a great companion by his side. My prayers are with all of you in this very difficult time.
     
  11. Boomer

    Boomer New Member

    Thanks. Take all of what you have written and how much you miss him and multiply it I don't know...just multiply! And it will never be enough to measure the emptiness I feel. I don't listen to ballgames anymore. It just doesn't have the same flavor, even on the radio. And hockey games are just as bad. Many years ago, in the Fall and Winter, Rod took me out on dates to the Spectrum in Philadelphia while he covered the Flyers and in the summer, it was Memorial Stadium and the Orioles. I would sit by myself in the stands and he would come as often as he could and keep me company then go back to the press box. I always had a great time. I favored the end zones at hockey games, better eye view in my opinion and he never understood that. After the games, I would head to the car and wait while he got his quotes and finished his game story. We never had a traffic problem leaving so long after the game. I never knew anyone like him and knew I never would again. I had the chance to go to NY and work as a translator for the UN but I turned it down, knowing I would regret leaving Rod. It was a choice I have never regretted.
    I knew he was well known and well liked but he never let it go to his head. We lived in the same little starter home in Arlington for 23 years, until it became too dangerous for him. And every summer, on the way to the beach, we had to stop on the side of the road while he made his radio spot for the week. He cooked a mean chilli and I have picked up the skill, and I don't even like chilli! I wish I could duplicate his stir fry but he always threw the spices together and never wrote it down.
    As you knew him, he was much the same at home, until about 10 years ago, when things started to go weird. But still, there are moments when Rod is Rod again. His booming voice may be gone, but his ability to joke, bad jokes too, comes up once in a while. I get it, but the attendants don't and Rod smiles that Cheshire Cat smile and I can walk to my car and go home smiling.
     
  12. Sam Mills 51

    Sam Mills 51 Well-Known Member

    I truly sympathize with this family is every way imaginable. My best to Rod, Maria and everyone else involved.
     
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