Carlos Beltran is leaving the MLB as a champion.
After winning the World Series with the 2017 Houston Astros, the Puerto Rican native decided to retire from the MLB after playing for 20 years. He ended his career with 435 home runs, 1,587 runs-batted-in (RBIs), 2,725 hits and 312 stolen bases in the regular season, while also hitting for a .307 batting average, 16 home runs and 42 RBIs in 65 postseason games. Beltran was also awarded the 1999 American League Rookie of the Year, 3 gold gloves for his defense in center field, 2 silver sluggers for his offensive production at his position, and was a 9 time All-Star, providing voters with an impressive resume when they vote for Hall of Fame inductees five years from now.
As a New York Mets fan, I was able to see Beltran play during the prime of his career. Spending 6 and a half seasons with the team from 2005-2011, Beltran hit 149 home runs, drove in 559 runs, and hit for a .280 average.
Unfortunately, regardless of his great stats, many Mets fans will probably remember him for this:
It was Game 7 of the NLCS. The New York Mets vs the St. Louis Cardinals. A trip to the World Series was on the line. The Mets were heavily favored, finishing the regular season with 97 wins, while the Cardinals won 83 games. The Mets hadn’t won a championship since 1986. The bases were loaded. It was the bottom of the 9th. Beltran had 2 strikes. Adam Wainwright wound up and threw, and his curveball sailed across the plate as Beltran froze. Strike 3. The game was over. The St. Louis Cardinals were going to the World Series to play the Detroit Tigers, where the Cardinals became the first team to win the World Series with less than 85 wins.
What made the pain of the loss even worse was the catch Ends Chavez made earlier in the game. With the game tied 1-1 and Jim Edmonds on first base, Cardinals third baseman Scott Rolen blasted a pitch from Oliver Perez deep to left field that looked like a home run for sure. That is, until Chavez leapt up, his arm above the fence up to his elbow, and brought the ball back. He threw the ball back into the infield to double-up Edmonds, and just like that the inning was over.
After seeing a catch like that, every Mets fan must have thought that it was destiny for them to make it to the World Series. I definitely thought so, until Wainwright’s pitch dashed our dreams.
Mets fans might be disappointed about the way the 2006 season ended, and Beltran unfortunately takes much of the blame from fans for it. Looking back to that very season, Beltran hit a career high 41 home runs with 116 RBIs, finishing in 4th place in National League MVP voting. During that 2006 NLCS, Beltran hit 3 home runs with 4 RBIs in 7 games, on top of a .296 batting average. He was one of the most integral parts of the team to even get them to that key situation.
Adam Wainwright’s disgusting curveball could fool almost anybody. That night, it happened to get the better of Carlos Beltran. He and the Mets lost the opportunity to win a World Series that night. However, in the end, Beltran can finally say that he is a world champion, and a player that is deservedly one after being consistently great throughout his incredible career.
