Jack McKeon used to lock Marlins’ clubhouse door to keep Josh Beckett out during games

Josh Beckett is among the Red Sox pitchers who reportedly drank beer, ate fried chicken, and played video games in the clubhouse during games and former Marlins manager Jack McKeon recalls locking the clubhouse door to keep Beckett (and Brad Penny) in the dugout during the 2003 season.

Not only that, McKeon told Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post that he forced players to use bathroom passes--which he amusingly called “poo-poo cards and pee-pee cards"--if they wanted to go into the clubhouse mid-game.

Here’s more from McKeon:

In between innings they’d go to the clubhouse to get a drink or hang out. I said, “Hey, I got no rule against going up if you have to go to the bathroom or something, but get back.” A couple of times I looked down the bench to talk to somebody and they weren’t there. They were in the clubhouse. So I went up and got them out and said, “OK, boys that’s it. We’ll lock the door.”

Florida won the World Series that season and a 23-year-old Beckett was named World Series MVP.

McKeon told Capozzi that he also had to threaten to keep this season’s Marlins out of the clubhouse, but never actually locked the door:

You had a lot of pitchers who didn’t have anything to do. What I wanted them to do is teach them how to focus. If they wanted to be good they’re going to have to focus by watching the opposition and learning something instead of running up to the clubhouse and getting a drink and kibitzing and stuff like that.

Presumably by “getting a drink” he means something non-alcoholic, although at this point who knows.