Before Monte Brooks put The Master's College baseball program on the national map, Chris Beck was starting to draw new boundary lines with a strong right arm and a determined mound demeanor. From 1991-94, he set the standard for future Mustang hurlers and etched his name in the record books.

Entering the college in the fall of 1990 out of Brethren High School in Long Beach, Beck immediately became the ace of the staff, notching nine wins, five complete games, and a 3.28 ERA as the Mustangs went 25-20.

A year later, the Mustangs struggled to only 16 wins and so did Beck who picked up just four wins. But in 1993 both the Mustangs and Beck bounced back as the team won 28 times (28-22) with the latter leading the way with nine more wins, 105 innings pitched, 94 strikeouts, and a sparkling 2.73 ERA.

Although his senior year didn't turn out the way he wanted (the Mustangs went 14-32), Beck still produced in spectacular fashion. He won only five times but it was the 143 strikeouts in just 98 innings of work that lit up the speed guns and turned the heads of major league scouts.   

That performance paid immediate dividends when the Seattle Mariners made him a seventh-round pick in the June Major League Baseball Draft, a month after he had graduated from the college with a degree in Liberal Studies. He left the college as the program's all-time winner with 27 victories and a school-record 349 1/3 innings pitched, marks that stand to this day. He's also No. 2 on the career list with 340 strikeouts and No. 3 with a 3.35 ERA.    

Joined by his wife, Danielle (Vosmeier, TMC class of 1993), whom he had married the year before, Beck headed off to professional ball, bouncing around in the minors from 1994-98.

After five years in small towns, Beck figured it was time to move on but still stay connected to the sport he loved. Joining Athletes in Action in 1999 enabled him to do both as he moved to Ohio and became a coach on one of the evangelistic organizaton's baseball teams.

He's been there ever since, pouring his life into baseball players for the sake of the Gospel. Along the way, he's traveled with hundreds of athletes, setting up the opportunity to do one-on-one discipleship.

Currently, Chris is the pitching coach for the Alaska Fire, one of six clubs in the Alaska Baseball League. He and Danielle live in Lebanon, Ohio, with their trio of boys, Ryan, Jackson, and Ty.