‘Georgia baseball is back’: Gordon Beckham credits Wes Johnson for CWS run

Gordon Beckham knows great baseball when he sees it, so it’s fair to say the former Georgia star and major leaguer has enjoyed the Bulldogs’ College World Series run as much as anyone.

“Georgia baseball is back,” Beckham told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in the hours leading up to the Bulldogs’ CWS clash with Oklahoma on Wednesday night.

Georgia faces elimination with a loss and needs to defeat the Sooners on Wednesday and Thursday to advance to a best-of-three series against North Carolina or West Virginia.

“Wes Johnson has done a great job. He’s ‘that’ guy, and he loves it — he has a lot of energy that is infectious,” Beckham said.

Beckham was the catalyst for what, before this season, had been Georgia’s most recent CWS run, back in 2008 when the Bulldogs finished national runners-up to Fresno State.

The Atlanta native and Westminster School graduate was the SEC Player of the Year in 2008 and led the nation in home runs in what was then UGA’s fourth CWS appearance in an eight-year span (2001, 2004, 2006, 2008).

Beckham, who played 11 years in the majors after being selected No. 8 overall in the 2008 MLB draft, said with Johnson at the helm there are more stars in the making at Georgia.

“Wes has done a good job of bringing Georgia back into the limelight with the momentum we had going to the World Series multiple times in the 2000s,” said Beckham, who has worked as an MLB sportscaster since 2021 and currently calls games for ESPN and the White Sox on the Chicago Sports Network (CHSN).

“Wes’ constant presence at the ballpark and desire to be so good has created an environment,” he said. “Wes is a players’ coach, and when players can be themselves, they can become the best they can be.”

Beckham also tipped his cap to athletic director Josh Brooks for finding and hiring Johnson and giving him the resources to reestablish the Georgia baseball brand.

“They’ve really upgraded Foley Field, it’s first class, nothing like it was before,” Beckham said of the $45 million renovations. “They have an opportunity now to attract better players in the portal, and this success speaks for itself.”

Beckham explained why Brooks’ decision to hire a pitching guru like Johnson, who coached pitchers with the Minnesota Twins and developed 2023 MLB draft No. 1 overall pick Paul Skenes at LSU, was pivotal.

“Georgia has become known for home runs, but Wes is getting pitchers to come to Athens based on talent and potential, and they want to go to him because he’s the best at coaching it,” Beckham said. “That’s the allure he’s had; it’s why Georgia gets pitchers like Joey Volchko and Matt Scott.

“The offense in college is always going to be there with the metal bats, and that can track talent to Athens, then all the sudden, you are rolling out arm after arm.”