Ah, Rookie Hazing

OK, the Sox have been behind some awesome rookie hazing stunts the past few years… Lance Broadway strutting around The Bronx dressed as a female lifeguard? Nice. So while I'm sure this incident won't be the extent to which the new guys are baptized, it still gave me a chuckle.

Despite being in the organization for less than a year, Gordon Beckham was invited to Spring Training with the Sox but (as expected), got a blunt reminder of his chances at the Majors this year when he was assigned jersey #80, the baseball equivalent of getting beamed down from the Enterprise in a red shirt.

During some BP Sunday, AJ Pierzynski was teasing Beckham about his lofty jersey number and during the conversation it was revealed Beckham didn't know who Harold Baines was (which, I believe is a cardinal sin in Sox fandom). On Monday, with the help of Joey Cora, the team pranked Beckham by playing a Baines inspired game of "Who Am I?" Beckham won an autographed black and white photo of #3, a handshake from the man himself, and a round of laughter from his teammates.

You can read the full transcript of Cora's performance Monday over at Hardball or check out The Sox Drawer, Chuck Garfein's blog, for video.

Good news for Gordon, his number 6 that he wore last year at the University of Georgia is still available.

Jermaine Dye asks Beckham what happened, and Beckham contends that he
knew who Harold Baines was.

A.J. Pierzynski and Brian Anderson say in unison, "No you didn't..."

Beckham's teammates chuckled.

"Now I know," Beckham said.

It's good to see him take a joke well.