Beckham paves way to Fens for brother

BOSTON -- It was a scene right out of a fan's love of the game. Hudson Valley infielder Jeremy Beckham, hovering around batting practice and pregame warmups, taking pictures of all the sights and sounds at Fenway Park.

Suddenly, it's Beckham's turn to bat. He passes the camera off to a teammate, who photographs the 22-year-old taking his cuts prior to the Renegades' matchup with Lowell as part of the Futures at Fenway doubleheader.

"It's an amazing feeling -- any time you get to play in an historic park like this one, it's an amazing feeling," Beckham said. "This is what you dream about."

The Griffin, Ga., native stood proudly outside the dugout. For the older brother of the Rays' first overall pick in the 2008 First-Year Player Draft, Tim Beckham, this particular day marks a special moment in his career.

Jeremy, in a sense paving the way for his younger brother Tim by stepping foot on Fenway's soil, made sure he took advantage of the afternoon for the photo album.

"Why not take full advantage of it and do everything you can to remember this day?" Renegades manager Joe Alvarez said. "I would take pictures all day long if I could."

The brothers briefly spent time earlier this summer playing side-by-side in the Appalachian League for the Princeton Devil Rays. Tim remains there, adjusting to his Draft status, owning a .237 batting average in 30 games.

Jeremy batted .260 with Princeton before being shipped to Hudson Valley of the short-season Class A New York-Penn League. He's currently batting .150 in eight games with the Renegades.

"It's a wonderful feeling [playing with my brother]," Jeremy said. "Wonderful feeling. It's always fun to play with brothers, or even best friends in this game."

How often do the two get in touch with each other?

"Every day," Jeremy said. "I like to see what he's doing, he likes to see what I'm doing. I'm just trying to keep up with him each day and make sure we're doing what we need to be doing."

So when Jeremy stepped onto the field at Fenway Park on Saturday, he got the opportunity to step onto the grass of this fabled Major League park in Boston, it might have been the older Beckham's way of checking out the territory for his younger brother.

It is, after all, what he takes pleasure in most.

"I always take pride in being a good example," he said. "I try to do my best, so that my brother has somebody to go by and someone to look up to."