'No better fit for the job': Former Vol standout Jordan Beck on Josh Elander

Tony Vitello is headed to the Major Leagues, where he will become the 40th manager for the San Francisco Giants. In an unprecedented move, Vitello becomes the first manager in history to jump directly from college baseball to MLB manager without any professional experience.

What is next for Tennessee baseball is left to be decided. Frank Anderson has been named as the interim Head Coach, but the Tennessee fan base is clamoring for Josh Elander to be the heir to Vitello’s throne.

Jordan Beck, one of the key players in the evolution of the Vols’ baseball program under Vitello and current Colorado Rockies standout, shared his thoughts on Elander with Volquest and what he meant to him during his time on Rocky Top.

“For me personally, I think Josh was the main recruiter for me,” Beck told Volquest. “He was the main reason I went to Tennessee. He was the essential piece and developed me to get to the next level. Some guys have already said he took time away to help them, this was after he was two children in, and he’d be there two hours after practice. He got me able to do some of the things I’m able to do now.”

“He was my hitting coach, and he assisted in the way that I developed. With the things he learned (in pro baseball), he instilled in us. He was a guy you could always go to and say ‘I need to work on this,’ and he would give you a blueprint to follow for three years, and you’d be where you want to be.He was always the confidence-instiller, but at the end of the day, he knows baseball. He calls games when Coach Anderson gets thrown out. He understands that side of the ball, so that helps him know the offensive side, too. The guy could really hit. At the end of the day, there’s no better fit for the job, at least in my opinion. He helped me get to where I am today.”

For Beck, who accounted for 34 home runs and countless big moments during his three seasons on Rocky Top, if Elander was not next up, it would be disappointing for him to see.

“I think it would be disappointing in the sense that you get a whole new staff when you lose, or when you want to re-create something that has already been done there,” Beck said. “That would almost be silly to me, kind of a shot in the back. Because you establish a program, get a program running the way you want it to. You have the pieces there that helped build that program, why would you take away from what’s been done?”

Beck will now see his former Head Coach on a frequent basis in the major leagues, as the two will square off in divisional play. He is not really sure yet what to expect from this.

“To be honest, I don’t really know,” he said of this. “Both of us are competitors. He’s going to try to figure out ways to get me out, and I’m going to try and figure out their team. At the end of the day, it’s competing, but it will be weird.”