Carlos Beltran
From The Met Wiki
| Age: 32 (born April 24, 1977) |
| Position: Center Field |
| Bats: Switch Throws: Right |
| Number: 15 |
| Acquired: Free agent 2004-2005 offseason |
| Contract: 7 year, $119 million (2005-2011) |
Carlos Beltran has been the rarest of New Yorkers, an underrated superstar.
Beltran is off to a tremendous start to 2009, and as re-earned his three spot in the lineup after batting fifth most of last year.
His first year with the Mets (in which he was playing hurt) was by far the worst in his career. His 2006 season (3rd in MVP voting) and postseason were very strong -- until striking out looking with two outs and the bases loaded in the ninth inning of Game 7 of the NLCS to end the Mets season.
Beltran's value greatly exceeds most fans' appreciation of him. Tim Marchman makes the pro-Beltran case best in Mets have problems but Beltran isn't one of them:
According to the Fielding Bible's plus/minus system, which scores defense play by play, Beltran has made 15 more plays than an average center fielder would have in the same chances this year, third in baseball. According to Bill James, who tracks baserunning play by play, Beltran has picked up 20 extra bases on the year, including base stealing and general running — as many as Jose Reyes. These aren't flukes — Beltran ranked second in extra plays made last year and seventh the year before, and he's picked up between 32 and 36 bases every year he's played at Shea. (These numbers are available via James's online subscription site.)
Ralph Kiner said that Beltran might be the most underrated player in New York history. He attributed this to Beltran's laid back attitude. Beyond that:
- The stats that fans pay the most attention to, such as batting average, home runs, and stolen bases, tell only a fraction of the Beltran story. Fans are generally unfamiliar with the defensive and baserunning stats where Beltran is really off the charts. Beltran draws a lot of walks, hits doubles, steals bases when it counts most and is very rarely caught.
- The most remembered image of Beltran is of him standing with his bat on his shoulder as the Cardinals begin celebrating their Game 7 victory.
- The Mets failed to deliver in Beltran's seasons with them.
- Within the Mets, Beltran has been overshadowed by young homegrown stars like Wright and Reyes, and by dominant performances by Johan Santana and Carlos Delgado.
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[edit] Kansas City
The Royals gave Beltran a starting job in center field and put him in the leadoff spot in the batting order. He really impressed the Royals, so they put him in the number three spot. He hit .293 with 22 home runs and 108 RBI.
After injuries and a big slump Beltran lost the starting center field job to Johnny Damon. When Damon was traded to the A's in the offseason before 2001 Beltran got the job back. He hit 24 home runs with 101 RBI and a .308 average. Beltran played well for the rest of his career in Kansas City. In 2004, the summer before he would reach free agency, the Royals traded Beltran to the Houston Astros.
[edit] Houston
On June 24 the Royals traded Beltran to the Astros. He nonetheless played for the AL in the All Star game.
The Astros played well and made the playoffs. Beltran had a tremendous postseason, but the Astros fell to the Cardinals in seven games in the NLCS. And that was the end of Beltran's career in Houston.
[edit] New York
Beltran was widely accepted to either sign with the Yankees or remain with the Astros. But the Mets made the best offer, and after the Mets signed Pedro Martinez Beltran decided to accept the Mets' $117 million 7 year offer. Many Astro fans had expected Beltran to stay after his monstrous postseason and felt betrayed when he left. Beltran is greeted with tremendous boos when he steps to the plate in Houston.
[edit] Most Memorable Met Moments
- Sadly, Beltran's most memorable Met moment, by far, was striking out looking with the bases loaded to end Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS. The similarity to the Casey at the Bat poem was too much for people to ignore, though Casey took the first two pitches and swung at the third, while Carlos did the opposite.
- Earlier in 2006 Carlos had 3 very memorable game winning homers. In May, he ended a 16 inning game with a walk-off blast. In September, with the Mets trailing 7-6 in the bottom of the ninth, Beltran hit a walk-off two run come-from-behind homer. Then in the NLDS, Beltran's 2 run shot accounted for the only runs in Game 2.
[edit] Awards and Personal Milestones
- Three consecutive Gold Gloves with the Mets (2006-2008)
- Two silver sluggers (2006, 2007)
- Rookie of the Year ([1998]])
- Four consecutive seasons All-Star appearances (2004- 2007)
