Beane, who grew up in the San Diego, California area and attended UC San Diego, was a first-round draft choice of the New York Mets in the 1980 MLB amateur draft and played parts of six seasons as a reserve outfielder in the major leagues, with the Mets, the Minnesota Twins, the Detroit Tigers and the Athletics, from 1984 to 1989. He was on the bench for two World Series wins - with the Twins in 1987, and the Athletics in 1989. He completed his 148-game career with a .219 batting average and 3 home runs. Though Beane was a highly touted prospect, his skills in high school did not translate to the Major Leagues.