Lew Beasley

Lewis Paige Beasley
(Quick Lew)

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 172 lb.
• High School Union High School (Caroline County)
• Debut May 21, 1977
• Final Game October 2, 1977
• Born August 27, 1948 in Sparta, VA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Lew Beasley was drafted in the second round of the January 1967 regular draft at age 18 and spent a decade in the minors before getting 25 games in the majors with the 1977 Texas Rangers. Another player was quoted as saying race had an impact on Beasley (and some other black players) not coming to the majors earlier.

Beasley was born in Sparta, VA, the same town where Soup Campbell was born. Lew attended Union High School in Bowling Green, VA, and roomed with Don Buford during his first year in the minors. Beasley was a minor league base stealer with nearly 250 swipes in his career. He sometimes hit .300, but had little power, except in 1976 when he slugged .554 in Triple A. The first five years of his minor league career were spent with the Baltimore Orioles organization, and the last six years with the Texas Rangers organization. Although he began in minor league ball in 1967, it took until 1975 before he was moved up to Triple A. He hit at least .300 during parts of three seasons at the level, but did not get a chance in the majors until the Rangers had an injury and brought him up in May 1977. He chose to retire in 1978 when he did not make the big league club, although he had hit .328 in the minors in 1977.

Lew's nephew, Tony Beasley, played nine years in the minors and never made the majors as a player. Tony has been a major league coach for three major league teams, currently employed by the Rangers.

Main source: The Baseball Bloggess: Lew and Tony Beasley, April 13, 2018. [1]