Boston’s Josh Beckett was Major League Baseball’s lone 20-game winner in 2007.

The providence journal / glenn osmundson

BOSTON — Josh Beckett swaggered through the Red Sox clubhouse recently wearing a green T-Shirt that read “What Would Waylon Do?”

Country legend Waylon Jennings was a Texan who was considered a renegade and an outlaw on stage and screen. Beckett will start Game One of the ALDS tonight for Boston against the Angels at Fenway Park, and like Jennings, the Red Sox right-hander is his own man. He just does his best work on the mound.

It would be tough to compare Beckett, and his style, to any other pitcher in the history of the game, because he’s one of a kind.

“He’s unique,” said former Florida Marlins manager Jack McKeon. “He’s a big Texan who has a lot of pride. He’s a hard worker and he’s the kind of guy who wants to be good. And, he is good.”

The 27-year-old right-hander for the Red Sox won 20 games during the regular season, his second in Boston, and is a strong candidate for the Cy Young Award.

Beckett knows how to win. He works extremely hard to achieve his goals. He’s enjoyed tremendous success during his young career, but he has changed in a positive way. When he was a member of the Marlins’ starting rotation in 2003, the then-23-year-old earned World Series MVP honors after throwing a complete-game five-hitter — on only three days rest — in Game Seven against the New York Yankees.

“There’s no question he’s one of my favorites,” said McKeon. “He’s a guy who I thought was a tremendous asset to us in 2003 and he was really turning into a tremendous pitcher. The guy has tremendous confidence. He’s a fighter and a competitor. What can you say about a guy who goes out on three days rest and pitched a spectacular final game for us in the World Series?”

The Bad Boy from Texas said he’s put that experience behind him and that it won’t help him when he faces the Angels tonight.

“I’ve certainly learned a lot through failure and success,” he said. “As you get older, you’re obviously still learning, but you’ve learned a lot of crucial things along the way. I don’t think anybody will ever consider their learning process completed in this game.”

It’s that attitude that has helped him become a premiere pitcher in Boston, following a 16-11 record from a season ago. His ERA last year was 5.01 in 33 starts. This season he dropped that to a solid 3.27 in 30 starts. His strikeout-to-walk ratio greatly improved, too. He walked 74 and struck out 158 in 2006, before issuing only 40 free passes with 194 K’s this season.

“He’s a good kid,” said McKeon. “I thought for sure he would win 20 games last year. I envision this guy definitely being a 20-game winner for years to come. People think he’s arrogant, but he’s not. He’s just a very confident young kid. He may be a little cocky at times, but sometimes you need to be cocky. He has a lot of faith in himself and he trusts himself. And, he’s got the talent.”

Beckett has faced some adversity in the past with a recurring blister problem on his throwing hand, but he’s been healthy all season for the Red Sox and that has proved crucial.

It wasn’t easy getting Beckett into a Red Sox uniform, but the deal was sealed on Nov. 25, 2005, when Boston acquired Beckett, third baseman Mike Lowell and pitcher Guillermo Mota in exchange for shortstop Hanley Ramirez and pitchers Anibal Sanchez, Jesus Delgado and Harvey Garcia.

Red Sox senior adviser and Rhode Island native Jeremy Kapstein was instrumental in getting the deal completed as GM Theo Epstein was in the midst of his brief hiatus from the club. Kapstein, the former team president of the San Diego Padres, used to talk at length with McKeon about Beckett and Lowell.

“I know Jerry probably had something to do with helping with insight in Boston when they acquired [Beckett and Lowell],” said McKeon. “We would talk about those guys many a time, and he was high on both of them. He spotted it right away and said ‘these two guys on your club are winners.’ Jerry is a knowledgeable baseball man, he has very good instincts and is a great evaluator of talent. If Red Sox ownership respected his input, then he had a lot to do [with] the deal.”

Beckett has transformed himself into an ace pitcher, and according to Red Sox manager Terry Francona, fans have only seen the beginning.

Beckett “has some pretty lofty goals,” said the Boston skipper. “He wants to be good for a long time. You can say that and you can show it, and I think he’s done the latter. ... He backs up his words with some pretty serious actions.”

Francona said when young pitchers come up through the minors, they will be told to watch and follow Beckett’s example. He’s done pretty much the same thing, watching veteran Curt Schilling go about his business. Beckett, however, isn’t ready to compare himself to anyone, nor does he want to.

“Am I trying to be the next Curt Schilling?” he asked. “No. I’m trying to be Josh Beckett. I’ll go out and do what I do best.”

jmcdonal@projo.com