a memorial patch for rod beck

rod beck, also known as 'shooter', was one of the better closers of the 1990's.  he came up with the giants in 1991 and recorded 199 saves for them in his seven seasons with the club.  when he died during the 2007 season, the team added a memorial patch to their left sleeves.  the 'beck 47' rectangular patch is visible on ryan klesko's 2008 topps card

as well as the front

and back of rajai davis' 2008 upper deck card

the card that represents the patch in my collection, however, is this 2008 upper deck first edition card of dave roberts

after leaving san francisco, beck joined the cubs for the 1998 season.  that year, he saved a career-high 51 games and became the subject of one of my favorite non-dodger cards.  he soon moved on to the red sox, and after tommy john surgery and a minor league stint with the iowa cubs (during which beck notoriously lived in his rv and would sometimes have fans come hang out with him there and have a beer or two after the game), he finished his big league career with the padres in 2004.  during his time with the pads, beck went to rehab for substance abuse, and it is thought that drugs contributed to his death at the age of 38.