Eric Beattie sat in a gym full of high school coaches. A then-naive 28-year-old Beattie was in his third year of coaching at Strawberry Crest High School in Dover, Florida. He was attending a meeting with local coaches in the area. Not too long into the meeting, the moderator posed a question.

“Who here has a coaching philosophy?”

Beattie remained stagnant. As he peered across the room, Beattie saw a number of older managers with their arms raised. He looked closer and realized all of them were successful championship coaches.

Then things clicked for Beattie. He needed to find his why as a coach.

Yet, Beattie didn’t want a forced philosophy. He wanted a purpose behind it, but knew it wouldn’t happen overnight. Five years later, it finally clicked. Through his experiences, he created a four letter acronym — HIPP.

It stands for: develop the human, develop the impact, develop the preparation and develop the performance. The mantra sticks with him wherever he goes, including to Chatham this summer.

“That philosophy for me really kind of defines every interaction that I have,” Beattie said.

Once a self-described cocky manager, it took Beattie time to mature and learn what worked for him and his players. He’s a completely different coach as a result. Beattie’s laid back style has followed him to the CCBL, a league in which he dominated as a pitcher. The 2014 Cape League Hall of Fame inductee returned to Massachusetts as a manager with Hyannis in 2022, winning CCBL Manager of the Year. Two years later, he’s guiding Chatham to a playoff push as its interim manager.

It’s not hard for Beattie to be reminded of his coaching ideology. HIPP is engraved on every one of his fungo bats. Prior to the season, each Chatham coach received a custom fungo with their name on it.

During every batting practice, Beattie can be seen gripping the bright orange handle with one hand and the navy blue barrel with the other. Right next to Beattie’s name on the barrel, the four-letter acronym appears. It serves as a constant symbol of his coaching roots.

Entering the summer, Beattie didn’t expect to implement his philosophy as Chatham’s manager. After parting ways with Hyannis following two seasons, former Anglers manager Jeremy “Sheets” Sheetinger offered Beattie the pitching coach job. But 31 games into Sheetinger’s first season with the A’s, he resigned and Beattie took over.

Though it was more sudden, Beattie's transition was reminiscent of how he began his coaching career.

In 2007, Beattie had just been released by the Boston Red Sox. Three years prior, he was a second round draft pick by the Detroit Tigers coming out of Division-II’s Tampa University. Beattie’s playing career never panned out and was cut after just three years in the minor leagues.

Right away, Beattie knew he wanted to stay involved in baseball. Beattie said he had a good reference at Strawberry Crest which, at the time, was a brand new high school just two miles from his house. Despite having zero coaching experience, Beattie was hired as Strawberry Crest’s first baseball manager.

The transition wasn’t easy for Beattie and his inexperience showed early on. Beattie said it took him two years to realize how bad of a coach he was.

“You realize pretty quickly that being a good player and being a good coach are two different things,” Beattie said.

Chatham interim manager Eric Beattie looks down at his clip board during Chatham's regular season finale against Orleans. Photograph by Ella Tovey

At that point, he decided to go all in. Beattie knew he loved his players. But at times, he didn’t feel they knew that. He made a concentrated effort to create better connections. Beattie utilized his experience from his career to guide his players. He wanted to create a fun atmosphere while leading his players to success. After all, Beattie wasn’t too far removed from a dominant stretch as a pitcher.

In 2003, Beattie took the Cape League by storm. While tearing up the D-II ranks at Tampa, Beattie played for the Bourne Braves. Initially, he came up to the Cape with a simple goal — get more comfortable with throwing his changeup. Beattie ended up finishing the season with the third-lowest ERA in league history (0.39).

Across 46 innings, he struck out 51 batters and let up just two earned runs. Former Bourne manager Harvey Shapiro attributed Beattie’s success to his professionalism. Shapiro said Beattie had a routine and he stuck to it. In turn, he dominated.

As a hard-throwing righty, Beattie fooled hitters with his fastball. Shapiro said Beattie threw it 65-70% of the time. He typically utilized his velocity the first time through a batting order. Then he worked in his cutter and changeup as he got deeper into outings.

“He was just mister consistent the whole season,” Shapiro said.

A decade later, he was honored for his historic season. Beattie didn’t even know a Cape League Hall of Fame existed. Until he got an email in 2014 letting him know he’d been nominated for it.

Instantly, Beattie was taken back to how much fun he had that summer. Returning to the Cape that November for the induction ceremony further exacerbated that joy.

But the idea of returning to the Cape as a coach never crossed Beattie’s mind. Until he ran into Shapiro at a coaching convention in Houston a few years later. The two talked about Beattie joining Shapiro’s staff as a pitching coach. Though it never materialized, another opportunity presented itself in 2022.

During a conversation with Hillsborough Community College manager Gary Calhoun, Beattie found out Calhoun managed the Hyannis Harbor Hawks. The two talked about the Cape League and Calhoun later hired Beattie as his pitching coach. A few months after, Calhoun left Hyannis and Beattie stepped in as the interim manager.

Without any collegiate coaching experience, Beattie admitted he was nervous heading into the summer. Yet that wasn’t clear to his players. Former Hyannis pitcher Jay Driver said Beattie came in with a concrete plan. He quickly established an idea of the culture and character he wanted to foster within the team.

Beattie made his guidelines clear. He let players know if they respected his time, he’ll respect theirs. In turn, he fought for them. At first, Driver felt Beattie had the makings of a strict manager. He soon realized the opposite.

On one of the first days of the season, Beattie walked up to the bullpen. Driver thought the pitchers were going to get scolded. Instead, Beattie expressed a need for energy from the hurlers throughout the season. He didn’t care if it “involved a bit of noise” as long as it was respectful.


Any team Beattie was on, he felt a disconnect between the pitchers and field position players. As a coach, he’s tried to bridge the gap. He let Hyannis’ pitchers know if a hitter does something good, it needs to be recognized. As a result, for every home run, the bullpen did a curtain call for the hitter.

“It increased the mood of everybody and took a lot of other stressors off of us,” Driver said. “Just knowing that when we got to the field, it was a safe place where we could enjoy ourselves.”

If the bullpen’s energy dropped throughout the season, Beattie was the first to let them know.

He knows the pressure weighing on Cape League players. He experienced it first hand. To relieve that stress, Beattie emphasizes that baseball at its core is a kids game. He encourages players to treat it that way.

“At 5 years old, we played (baseball) for one reason: it was fun,” Beattie said. “That doesn't ever have to change. Sometimes they need to be reminded of that.”

Amid Beattie’s laid back nature also comes a serious side. Driver said at the start of the season, Beattie told players to talk with him if they had questions about playing time. He said he’d be up front and honest with them.

A couple weeks into the season, Driver struggled to find his role. So, he went to Beattie. Driver was candid with his skipper, telling him that he felt like he wasn’t a go-to option. The two had a long conversation, discussing what Driver needed to do to earn more playing time.

Earlier in the season, Driver expressed his interest in starting. Beattie was willing to give him that chance. He impressed in a couple of long-relief outings prior to earning his first start. Soon, Beattie placed Driver in the rotation — where he stayed the rest of the summer.

He had a strong spring with Harvard and returned for a second summer with Hyannis. In 2023, he was drafted in the ninth round by the Cleveland Indians. Driver attributed much of his success to Beattie and his advice.

Beattie’s hands-on approach hasn’t changed with Chatham. He’d never been a pitching coach in his coaching career. So, he emphasized building strong relationships with every pitcher.


For reliever Tanner Franklin (Tennessee), Beattie was exactly what he needed this summer. Franklin yearned for a coach that was going to go out of their way no matter what to help. Beattie fit that mold.

“Everything he does has meaning to it, and he's putting all of his effort into it,” Franklin said. “It doesn't matter if you're working on a new pitch or you're trying to change everything about yourself, he's gonna be there with you and do it 100%.”

Franklin said Beattie helped him with tightening his core while winding up. The adjustment helped clear up command issues. Through everyday conversations, Franklin continued to excel out of the bullpen. It also helped that Beattie let Franklin and the rest of the pitching staff be themselves.

The Anglers’ bullpen became known for their third inning role call — a rallying cry which can be heard both at home and away games. Initiated by former Angler Pierce George (Chicago White Sox), Beattie became a big proponent of the tradition.

With every home run, the pitchers also show their appreciation. Once the batter returns to the dugout, they eventually make their way down the left field line. Awaiting them is the herd of pitchers. To celebrate, the batter jumps in unison with the pitchers before letting out a collective “BOOM” as they lock arms.

The connection between Chatham’s bullpen and field players is exactly what Beattie wants within a team. The free flowing nature and non-stop energy are a recipe for success. It’s how Beattie’s built his coaching style over the past 15 years.

While this summer hasn’t panned out exactly how Beattie originally expected, he’s remained level-headed. Less than three weeks ago, he was surprisingly thrust into the spotlight. Even if he wasn’t running the show all season, Beattie’s fingerprints are all over Chatham.

As of now, Beattie’s role with the Anglers isn’t permanent. It remains to be seen whether he’ll be with Chatham next season. What is known is that Beattie wants to be on the Cape in 2025.

“I would have to say as of right now, at this moment, 100%,” Beattie said.