Hayden Beard

Hayden Stuart Beard

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 175 lb.

• Born January 22, 1985 in Canberra, Capital Territory Australia

BR minors page

Biographical Information

Hayden Beard pitched as high as AA.

In the 2006 Claxton Shield, he walked 4 in 2 2/3 IP for the Australian Provincials, but allowed only one run, on a solo shot by Tim Kennelly. Beard was initially signed by the New York Mets. He was 5-2 with two saves and a 5.34 ERA in 15 games for the GCL Mets in 2006, leading the team in wins. He tied Zach McAllister, Grant Duff and Yanery Vasquez for second in the Gulf Coast League in wins, one behind Jhonny Nunez. He struggled in the 2007 Claxton Shield, with two hits, six walks and four runs in one inning. He hurt his elbow in the spring of 2007 and had surgery; he would not pitch in the minors from 2007-2009. The San Diego Padres took him in the AA portion of the 2009 Rule V Draft. In the 2009-2010 Claxton Shield, he was 1-1 with two saves, a 0.96 ERA and 10 strikeouts in 9 1/3 IP for Southern Australia. He tied for third in saves.

He split the summer of 2010 between the Fort Wayne TinCaps (4-0, 2 Sv, 6.19 in 29 G) and Lake Elsinore Storm (0-1, 4.37 in 20 G). With his hometown Canberra Cavalry in the 2010-2011 Australian Baseball League, he was 0-1 with two saves and a 3.12 ERA. His fastball was still being timed at 95 mph despite his injuries. In 2011, he was mostly with Lake Elsinore, going 4-3 with a 6.17 ERA and a .327 opponent average in 41 games (he also allowed one run in 3 innings for the AZL Padres on a rehab assignment). His ERA was still well better than the average (7.25) in the hitter-friendly California League.

Beard pitched twice for the Australian national team in the 2011 Baseball World Cup, giving up two runs in one inning against Cuba and 3 runs (2 earned) in two innings versus Germany. Only Todd Van Steensel had a higher ERA for the Aussies. With Canberra in the 2011-2012 ABL, he had a 5-3, 2.82 record. He was third in the league in ERA (after Warwick Saupold and Geoff Brown), tied for second in wins (one behind Daniel Schmidt) and 9th in strikeouts (42).

With the 2012 San Antonio Missions, Beard was 6-5 with a 5.58 ERA in 31 games (19 starts). He tied Jake Buchanan for 4th in the Texas League with 74 earned runs allowed and his 13 wild pitches tied Johnny Hellweg and Dan Houston for second, one shy of Shawn Haviland. That ended his playing career.

He later was pitching coach for Canberra.

Sources

• Interview with Beard
• MILB.com
• Australian Baseball League
• 2012 Padres Media Guide