Kash Beauchamp

Who is Kash Beauchamp?

James Kash Beauchamp is the son of Jim Beauchamp, and a former minor league baseball outfielder and manager. Beauchamp originally attended Grove High School in Oklahoma and then Bacone College. He was drafted first overall by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1982 January amateur draft, ahead of names such as Kirby Puckett and Randy Myers.

Beauchamp played 12 seasons in the minors, seeing moderate success but never reaching the Majors, although he did get as high as Triple-A. He displayed good speed at the beginning of his professional career, stealing as many as 25 bases in a season, although as his career went on he stole less and less each year.

In 1984, he was the MVP of the Carolina League All-Star Game, going 5-for-6 with a home run, two triples and five RBI. He was voted Best Defensive Outfielder and Outfielder With the Best Arm that year by Baseball America.

Beauchamp was the first player to be signed to a professional contract out of the independent leagues when, after hitting .367 with the Rochester Aces of the Northern League in 1993, he was signed by the Cincinnati Reds.

He ended his playing career in 1995, and afterward he began managing and coaching various teams in different independent leagues. From 1995 to 1997, he was a hitting coach in the Montreal Expos farm system. From 1998 to 2000, he managed the New Jersey Jackals of the Northeast League. He managed the Lincoln Saltdogs in 2001 and then the Adirondack Lumberjacks for the next three seasons. He didn't manage in 2005, instead serving as the scouting director for the Golden Baseball League. During his time with the Golden League he was picked up as hitting coach for the Samurai Bears. He also had a role in the movie Season of the Samurai. He managed the Pensacola Pelicans of the American Association in 2006. In 2007, he served as Vice President/Director of Baseball Operations for the South Coast League. He also served as manager of the league's Anderson Joes franchise for the final 37 games of the 2007 season. Beauchamp left both positions in November 2007 to become manager of the Wichita Wingnuts of the American Association.