Carlos Beltran is officially a member of Baseball's Hall of Fame.
The Puerto Rican native who signed with the Mets in the autumn of 2004, following a monumental postseason run with the Houston Astros that year, went on to solidify himself as one of baseball's best five-tool players and center fielders in New York over seven years in Mets orange and blue. Now he can call himself a Hall of Famer.
It wasn't always pretty, but it is beyond outstanding to see Beltran come this far, and finally find his place among the best to ever play the game.
Say what you will, and I know Mets fans have made a lot about that strike-three call against Adam Wainwright and the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS for two decades now, but you can't take away the fact that Beltran was a special player when he was here in New York. He deserves this honor.
That's not a bad list.
The late Gary Carter, whose preference was to wear a Mets hat on his plaque, has a Montreal Expos hat on instead since officials decided it best represented the bulk of his career in the 1980s.
If the Hall of Fame ever got their heads out of their you know what's, Keith Hernandez should be the fourth player to wear a Mets hat into the Hall. He's yet to even get elected for the honor, which is a mystery that has befuddled baseball enthusiasts for years.
But back to Beltran. His enshrinement into the Hall of Fame completes and incredible career, and also an amazing redemption arch.
In his 20-year playing career that started with the Kansas City Royals, and included stops with the Astros, Mets, Giants, Cardinals, Yankees, and Rangers, Beltran amassed 435 career home runs, 1587 RBI, 2725 hits, 312 stolen bases, and a career batting average of .279.
When he broke out with Kansas City in 1999, people could tell he was going to be a special player. Beltran hit 22 home runs his first full year in the majors, and proved to be elite in the outfield. The only question was how long Beltran would stay in Kansas City. The Royals at the time were not known as a team that willingly spent big even on its own players.
Jermaine Dye and Johnny Damon were also on those teams and wound up having success elsewhere.
Beltran was eventually traded to Houston in 2004 where he became an absolute beast, crushing eight home runs and hitting well over .400 in 12 postseason games that year. While the Astros fell short to the Cardinals in the NLCS that year, everyone knew Beltran would cash in big in free agency.
That winter the Mets under the leadership of Omar Minaya went big on acquiring two of 2004's biggest postseason stars. They signed Pedro Martinez away from the Red Sox that year, and signed Beltran to a seven-year deal.
While he struggled to adjust his first year in New York in 2005, Beltran exploded offensively, crushing 41 homers and driving in 116 as he became the centerpiece of a outstanding lineup that featured Jose Reyes, David Wright, Paul LoDuca and Carlos Delgado.
Beltran hit two indelible walk-off homers that season. One came in an 16-inning affair against Philadelphia. The other came in August against the Cardinals.
While Beltran continued to produce big numbers throughout his Mets career, he saw the team start to wane. Collapses in 2007 and 2008 were soon followed by uncertainty in 2009, 2010 and '11. By that point he was dealt to the San Francisco Giants.
Beltran would return to New York in 2014 when he signed a deal with the Yankees. He would spend three years in Pinstripes, posting solid numbers. In 2017 he returned to Houston where he was a member of the Astros' controversial World Series championship team.
That is where things get interesting in the Beltran story.
While with the Astros in '17 he was credited as being an instrumental sounding board for the players, with many looking up to him and fellow veteran teammate Alex Cora. Unfortunately, Beltran was later named in baseball's report on the inner workings of the Astros sign stealing scandal, and helped "devise the sign stealing system," according to ESPN at that time.
Ironically word of Beltran's supposed involvement didn't get out until late 2019 after he had served two years in the Yankees front office under Brian Cashman. It was during the early days of the 2019-20 winter that Beltran made what many thought would be a heroic return to the Mets when he was named manager.
But once the sign-stealing story came out, Beltran and the Mets had to part ways.
However as the years have passed since, Beltran has rebuilt his reputation. After a three-year hiatus he returned to the Mets in 2023, not as manager, but as a special advisor and front office assistant under Billy Eppler and David Stearns.
As the Mets prepare to begin yet another search for a full time manager this fall, Beltran's name is coming up. He was given the chance to take over for Carlos Mendoza last month, but declined for now, choosing to focus on his Hall of Fame induction with his family. Beltran will also have his number retired in September.
However, many believe he will be the favorite to get the job back, if he wants it this fall. It is ironic that Beltran could have some competition for the spot in the form of Alex Cora, who was Beltran's teammate in Houston in 2017. Cora was recently fired by the Boston Red Sox after eight seasons at the top step of the dugout. Cora will be on a lot of teams' shortlists this fall.
But on this night, Carlos Beltran's career is complete, and what an incredible journey it has been. And there might be more to come.
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