Thoughts on Carlos Beltran's Career with the New York Mets

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Carlos Beltran's career with the New York Mets will most likely be over before the trade deadline of July 31st. He is without a doubt the best overall outfielder to ever wear a Met uniform. I remember the exact moment hearing from a coworker prior to the 2005 season that the Mets signed him to a 7-year deal for a ridiculous amount of money. I was afraid he was overpaid and would not earn his money but coming in at the age of 28 meant he was just approaching his prime. The simple fact is all baseball contracts are ridiculous, but that discussion is for another day. The first four years of his deal he played exceeding well and actually earned his keep. From 2005 through 2008 he hit 145 home runs, scored 419 runs, drove in 418 runs (RBIs), was a 3-time All-Star and 3-time Gold Glove center fielder. You cannot ask more from your star player. On top of that he stole 62 bases. Unfortunately 2009 and 2010 were plagued with injuries and he only played in 145 games in those years. In January 9, 2010 Beltran had undergone surgery with his own doctor and did not consult the New York Mets. I have no idea why the surgery wasn't performed months earlier so he'd have time to recover and get back on the field. The saga progressed and the nonsense spewed by the Mets' GM Omar Minaya (aka Nomore Goodbya) was just pathetic. Beltran has come back this season and agreed to start in right field. Angel Pagan has taken over in center field and helps out Beltran quit a bit. Pagan shades toward right-center, covering a lot of ground Beltran cannot cover these days. Fred Wilpon's displeasure with Beltran’s contract is well documented as he stated that he was the schmuck who overpaid him based on a successful playoff run with the Houston Astros in 2004. Beltran is having an excellent year, playing everyday and is back to his All-Star form: 15 home runs, scored 56 runs and drove in 61 runs (RBIs). Obviously he will never be the base stealer he once was but he still has a few more years of high productivity in him, just not with the Mets. His contract with New York expires this season and he will most assuredly be traded. Beltran wants to stay in the National League since he knows the pitchers and does not want to DH. I have mixed feelings about him and in Game 7 of the 2006 National League Championship Series he broke my heart. He took a nasty call strike three with runners in scoring position being down to the St. Louis Cardinals and I was left Shea Stadium feeling empty. I attended that game with my Wife and another couple. We sat on the rail in the upper level just in front of first base. The entire upper deck was literally shaking and within seconds it turned to complete silence after Beltran looked at strike three. I screamed at the top of my lungs “NO!” and left in utter disgust. All I could think about was he's paid to swing the bat and what was he thinking taking that pitch. I stuck my rally towel in the cyclone fence beneath the subway stop en route to the train. That was our year. In fact I had tickets to two of the three World Series games that would have been played at Shea but it was not meant to be. The Cardinals went on the crush the listless Detroit Tigers and all I felt that should have been the Mets. I'm blaming Beltran for that but the Mets left umpteen men on base, most in scoring position all night so there was plenty of blame to go around. Home Run Heilman gave up that home run to Molina and that produced another “NO!” from me. Over the years Beltran looked so smooth in center, almost lazy at times as he was a complete natural. He possesses a good arm that never misses the cutoff man. I wish him luck and hope he doesn’t burn the Mets sometime down the road.