During his high-school baseball career, the late Caleb Beatty was a standout player for the McLean Highlanders.
Beatty, 26, died unexpectedly this past October. He was a 2015 McLean graduate.
In memory of the hulking catcher, a permanent homemade wooden cedar bench, which includes an inscription of Beatty’s name and his batting caricature, has been installed at the field in foul territory along the left-field line. The bench was unveiled during a March 28 ceremony prior to McLean’s home game against the Herndon Hornets.
Each team, former teammates of Beatty’s, his family members and others gathered around the bench when a blue tarp was removed to unveil the memorable. Beatty’s red No. 8 jersey and baseball caps had been placed on the bench.
Former McLean High shortstop Jack Boland built the bench and sketched the inscriptions, with the help of his girlfriend. Boland said the idea for the bench came from Beatty’s family and friends.
“We all worked together on this,” Boland said.
Joey Sullivan was one of the aces of McLean’s pitching staff when Beatty started behind the plate for the Highlanders. He attended the March 28 ceremony.
“Caleb was my catcher, and he was a very good one,” Sullivan said. “He had a lot of big hits for us back then.”
After the bench was unveiled, members of Beatty’s family gathered around the mound to throw out the game’s ceremonial first pitch. All the while, Beatty’s uniform No. 8 was highlighted on the scoreboard.
After graduating from McLean, Beatty played college baseball at Pitts Community College, then at Division II Lenoir-Rhyne University, both in North Carolina.
