Any mention of Rod Beck among his former teammates will inevitably prompt a recollection of the right-hander's down-to-earth demeanor. "He had an everyman type of personality to where he didn't take himself very seriously," said Brian Johnson, who caught Beck during the 1997 season with the Giants. "That's what endeared him to everybody." Beck, who died in June at the age of 38, also will be remembered for his pitching, the skill that gave him his inaugural appearance on the Hall of Fame ballot for 2008. Beck ranks 23rd all-time with 286 saves. He recorded each one with style, staring intently toward home plate while his right arm swayed at his side like a pendulum. With his Fu Manchu mustache and flowing hair, he looked like an old West gunslinger, which was the word Giants' broadcaster Mike Krukow cited to explain Beck's nickname, "Shooter." "That's the way he approached everything," Krukow said shortly after Beck died. "He had a huge heart, a Hall of Fame heart."