Chasing a Dream: Seth Beer’s Journey from Backstroke Records to Baseball

July 29, 2024 – International League (IL)
Indianapolis Indians Press Release

Seth Beer is no stranger to breaking records. He earned several swimming honors as a teenager and recently recorded the first three-home run game by an Indianapolis Indian since 2001. It’s no wonder that one of the most important decisions of his life coincided with a historic, record-breaking home run derby performance in 2008.

Growing up just outside of Atlanta, Ga., Beer was a former Olympic hopeful who grew up training to be great in the pool. His incredible swimming career began somewhat by accident, with hydrotherapy suggested to relieve the stress on his body from various growing pains in his tendons and muscles. After his last of several doctor visits, Beer’s mother knew what he needed and signed him up for swimming the next day.

“For me, I give all the credit to my mom,” Beer said. “My dad helped me pursue my baseball dream and get me where I needed to be, but my mom helped me pursue two dreams. I was so happy.”

From a young age, Beer spent the early morning hours training intensely in hopes of becoming the best swimmer in the world. He trained twice a day for six days a week throughout his teenage years. While many of his peers focused on hanging out with friends or playing video games, Beer was dedicated to honing his skills in the pool and pursuing his Olympic dream.

“I wasn’t fast and I wasn’t good,” Beer said. “It really made me angry. I wanted to get better and I was always a competitive kid.”

As time went on, Beer began to see results. Times got faster, his technique improved, and eventually trophies began to clutter the shelves in his bedroom. As a pre-teen, he was competing with and succeeding against kids much older than him. Regardless of his age, he welcomed the chance to see how he measured up against the best young swimmers in the country.

While the competition was intense, Beer carried his weight throughout his swimming career. By the time he was 11 years old, his name was on the map as one of the most decorated young swimmers in the country.

At the age of 12, he set the 100-meter backstroke record with a time of 1:01.35, surpassing the previous record held by four-time Olympic gold medalist Ryan Murphy. This performance is one of Beer’s fondest memories from his swimming career and something he will cherish forever.

Competitors like Murphy and Caeleb Dressel, who won the United States’ first gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics as part of the men’s 4×100-meter freestyle relay, pushed Beer to become the best versions of himself. He kept them in mind throughout training, knowing how hard they worked, too. Looking back on his time on the travel swimming circuit, Beer has great admiration for what he and his former competitors endured in pursuit of the Olympic dream.

“I know how hard it is and the internal stuff that goes on to get guys or girls out there,” Beer said. “Guys like Caeleb Dressel and the guys that I’ve competed with (go) out there and have success. I know how hard they’ve worked for it.”

The former athlete for Swim Atlanta, a club program in his hometown, specialized in the shorter events and improved his 100-meter record with a record in the 50 meters.

“I’ve always been a sprinter. I watch guys who go long distances and I’m impressed by what they do,” Beer said. “I’m a guy who’s going to keep going until I can’t anymore. I’m going to give it my all until I run out of gas.”

After breaking a number of records, Beer began to realize the value of hard work and what he could achieve if he focused all his energy on achieving his goals.

“It was special for me,” Beer said. “It was the first time in my life at such a young age that (I realized) if you really work hard and put in a lot of effort, you can achieve your goals and dreams.”

As time went on, Beer combined his excellence in the pool with success in soccer, basketball, and baseball. As his success on the field increased, so did his love for the game. He was at a crossroads and realized that he had to focus all his attention on one sport if he wanted to become a professional at the highest level.

Beer knew he had to make the right choice for his future. In uncertain times, his family received a message that helped him guide his future career.

1999 National League All-Star pitcher Paul Byrd came to visit. Byrd, a travel baseball coach for Beer’s after retiring from a 14-year major league career, saw that the young slugger had a big-league swing and believed he could have a career in professional baseball.

Beer had to make a difficult decision: his swimming dream disappeared into thin air when baseball became his passion.

“I was so torn,” Beer said. “I was pulled in two different directions.”

Beer came to realize his future plans after watching highlights of Josh Hamilton’s performance in the 2008 Major League Baseball Home Run Derby, where the Texas Rangers star hit a then-record 28 home runs in the first round at historic Yankee Stadium. It was then that Beer knew what dream he wanted to pursue. After receiving his parents’ blessing to change course and pursue his ambitions of becoming a major leaguer, Beer gave baseball everything he had.

From the pool to the baseball field, success followed Beer—thanks in large part to the discipline instilled in him by the grueling hours he spent training in the water. By high school, his inbox was flooded with scholarship offers to swim and play baseball. But he knew that baseball was his calling.

Ultimately, Beer decided to attend Clemson University and went on to become one of the most successful baseball players in the school’s history. He became the first freshman ever to win the Dick Howser Trophy, given to the nation’s best baseball player, after hitting .369 with 18 home runs and 70 RBI in 2016. He was also the Louisville Slugger Freshman Player of the Year.

In 2018, one of Beer’s dreams came true when he was selected by the Houston Astros with the 28th overall pick in that summer’s First-Year Player Draft. After spending a year in the Astros’ farm system, Beer was included in a blockbuster deal at the 2019 MLB trade deadline, trading him to Arizona for infielder Josh Rojas and right-handers J.B. Bukauskas and Corbin Martin in exchange for right-hander Zack Greinke.

Two years later, Beer made his MLB debut against the Seattle Mariners, becoming just the fourth Diamondback to hit a home run in his first major league at-bat. As Arizona’s Opening Day designated hitter in 2022, he hit a three-run walk-off homer in the ninth inning, becoming just the second rookie in MLB history to hit a walk-off homer on Opening Day. In 43 major league games, Beer has a .208 batting average (25-for-120) with two home runs and 12 RBI.

On December 6, 2023, Beer was selected out of Arizona by Pittsburgh in the MiLB phase of the Rule 5 Draft. Since his promotion from Double-A Altoona to Indianapolis in mid-June, the sweet-swinging slugger has provided plenty of power and experience to help drive the Indians’ offense.

Looking back on that decision to switch from swimming to baseball, Beer has no regrets. He does mention, however, that every four years when the Olympics take place, it’s a double whammy to think about what could have been.

“It’s an easy way for me to wonder where things would have gone if I had stuck with it?” Beer said.

Looking to the future, Beer still cherishes the big-league dreams that brought him to baseball in the first place.

“My goal is to get back to the big leagues and do my thing,” Beer said. “I just have to stay determined and focus on chasing the big league dream.”

• Discuss this story on the International League message board…

The opinions expressed in this press release are those of the organization issuing the press release and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.