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Rays Top Pick Beckham Gets Record Signing Bonus

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Top pick Tim Beckham signed his first pro contract with the Rays Thursday.

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By MARC LANCASTER

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 20, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG - As any self-respecting big-time athlete would, Tim Beckham tried to play it cool Thursday afternoon.

Not long after signing a deal that netted him a record $6.15 million bonus, the 18-year-old looked self-assured as he strolled down the right-field line at Tropicana Field, accompanied by his parents, one of his brothers, his agents and Rays officials.

That facade cracked when he noticed a No. 3 Rays batting practice jersey bearing his name hanging in a locker adjoining B.J. Upton's.

"Once I saw that, my heart dropped," Beckham said. "It's a crazy feeling right now - I can't even put it into words."

Instead, he just kept smiling. As he met with a horde of reporters, telling them the best advice he had received was to "stay humble." As he donned his uniform and joked with Upton and Carl Crawford in the outfield. As he nervously prepared to take batting practice at the Trop with his family and much of the Rays' front office looking on, not to mention his hitting-group partners Crawford, Upton, Cliff Floyd and Eric Hinske. And even as he struggled to make solid contact against Coach Tim Bogar's down-the-pipe offerings.

"Tim is sort of a larger-than-life kid," said his agent, Greg Genske. "He has a very large personality, a very big smile."

The next stop for that smile and the Rays' latest franchise cornerstone is Princeton, W.Va. Beckham will head there Sunday after a couple of days at home to pack and say his goodbyes before getting his professional career started alongside his brother Jeremy, a 17th-round pick who already has joined the P-Rays.

In signing Thursday, exactly two weeks after the Rays took him with the first overall pick in the draft, the Griffin, Ga., native followed through on his draft-day promise to get on the field as quickly as possible. That's precisely what the Rays wanted him to do, as they consider the next two months of minor-league play crucial to his development.

"We were very aggressive in terms of how we negotiated because of how much value we see in getting him out," said Rays executive vice president Andrew Friedman.

Beckham's $6.15 million, which will be paid over the next five years rather than as a lump sum, is the most for a drafted player. He edged out the top pick from 2005, Justin Upton, who got $6.1 million from the Diamondbacks and already has established himself in the majors.

How long will it take Beckham to find his way back to the Trop? At least a few years is the safe bet, but Beckham has been known to exceed expectations.

"He's kind of had this air about him that he feels like he can compete at any level," said his father, Jimmy Beckham. "I guess having two older brothers, you've either got the nerve to do it or you don't, and he's always felt like he could compete on any level.

"This level here doesn't intimidate him."

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