The day after Tim Beckham donned this Christopher Schafer suit and posed for STYLE’s cover, the Baltimore Orioles announced the affable infielder and last year’s go-to shortstop would swap spots with Manny Machado and play third base this season.
These are the sort of sports moves that can sparks weeks of conversation. But Beckham doesn’t just look cool in a suit. “I just want to go into the season with a clear mind,” he says. “I want to embrace that position and be the best third basemen I can be.”
Before spring training, he made a quick trip back to his native Georgia to host a free baseball clinic for players ages 6 to 14, a program he started in 2015 and that now draws about 80 participants. Beckham loves it.
“You never know what it takes to change a kid’s life,” he says.
The power of sports is something he believes in strongly. He started playing baseball around age 7, but also played football and basketball. In fact, he had given up baseball by middle school to pursue the other two sports, when his older brother Jeremy “saw something in me” and encouraged him to return to the diamond.
An Oriole since last season, Beckham hit the 10,000th home run in Orioles history on August 5, 2017. Two days before, he hit the 2,500th home run by an Oriole at Oriole Park in Camden Yards. That was a “great feeling,” he says. He came to the city knowing the fans “had a lot of energy,” but he says he is grateful for how Baltimore and the Orioles welcomed him. “It felt like home.”
Now he’s settling in and has added some Orioles causes to his own list, including Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital, where he paid a recent visit.
“A lot of those kids are stronger than we are,” he says, adding that he is happy to be a “fresh face” who can put a smile on theirs.
What he’s wearing: Houndstooth Jacket, $2,000; Charcoal Pants, $500; white Oxford shirt with silver buttons, $250; Handmade Pink Paisley Tie, $100;
all at Christopher Schafer Clothier. Panerai Watch, $7,500; Radcliffe Jewelers.
