Strawberry Crest coach Eric Beattie accepted the award Saturday, March 5.
Eric Beattie has a lot to smile about these days.
The Strawberry Crest baseball coach is not only enjoying a solid 2016 season with the Chargers but also added a high honor to his resumé Saturday, March 5, when he was inducted into the Sunshine State Conference Hall of Fame.
“It was awesome,” Beattie says. “It was very well put on. It was an honor to be included. The people that were being inducted, their accomplishments were awesome. It was very humbling.”
Sure, it’s not the first time Beattie has received an honor like this. He’s also a member of the University of Tampa Athletic Hall of Fame and the Cape Cod Baseball League Hall of Fame and was inducted into both halls in 2014. Still, getting hall-of-fame honors three times in as many years is a big deal for anybody.
“I wasn’t expecting to get this honor,” Beattie says.
The Sunshine State Conference’s decision to honor Beattie was based on his playing days for the Spartans.
Beattie, a pitcher and a Riverview High alum, saw action for UT from 2002 to 2004 and spent the latter two seasons racking up all kinds of awards. He was a first-team All-American and first-team All-South selection in 2003, as well as the South Regional MVP and regional all-teamer, Sunshine State Conference Pitcher of the Year, Male Athlete of the Year and first-team All-SSC. That year, the Spartans made the NCAA Division II College World Series and finished as runner-up.
In 2004, he made second-team All-SSC and was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the second round of the Major League Baseball draft.
He ranks third all-time in career shutouts (four), fifth in career wins (30), seventh in career innings pitched (288) and eighth in career strikeouts (278) for UT. He still holds the record for most wins in a single season (15 in 2004), as well as for the most shutouts pitched in one season (three in 2003). In the 2004 draft, he was one of three Spartans to be selected in the first two rounds.
It’s no surprise that Beattie is proud of his Spartan days.
“To be honest, I’m just proud to be a UT alumni,” Beattie says. “I can’t say anything that I did really sticks out — it was really the overall experience of playing with those teammates and for those coaches. I would say the thing I’m most proud of is the whole experience altogether.”
Beattie met his wife while at UT. She played volleyball for the school. Many of his teammates were in his wedding.
He played summer ball for the Bourne Braves in the Cape Cod League, leading all pitchers in 2003 with an 0.39 ERA and a 4-0 record, striking out 51 batters en route to the league championship finals.
Beattie maintains that, in spite of his accomplishments, he didn’t think he would get the SSC honors.
“Part of the speech I gave at the (SSC) ceremony was about being thankful just to make my high school team, as a junior,” Beattie says. “Getting the opportunity to play college ball, I was honored and thankful for that. Getting the chance to play professionally, I was honored and thankful for that. This, I never expected it. I definitely appreciate it.”
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.
