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Six years after Carlos Beltran was supposed to manage the New York Mets, the organization is making him a face of the franchise again.
The Mets hired Beltran, a recent Hall of Fame inductee, ahead of the 2020 MLB season to make him their next manager after firing Mickey Callaway. But when the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal involving Beltran was revealed, he and the organization parted ways without him ever making it to a game.
But on Monday, the team announced that Beltran’s No. 15 will be retired on Sept. 19.
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New York Mets’ Carlos Beltran smiles during an introductory baseball news conference in New York, Nov. 4, 2019. (Seth Wenig/AP)
Twelve Mets have worn the number since Beltran’s last game with the Mets in 2011 – outfielder Tyrone Taylor currently wears it. But Beltran’s Hall of Fame plaque will feature a Mets cap this summer, making him the third player to represent the Mets in Cooperstown, joining Tom Seaver and Mike Piazza.
When MLB released its findings of the investigation into the Astros in 2020, Beltran was the only player named in MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred’s report.
It has been widely speculated that Beltran, along with Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora, the Astros bench coach at the time, spearheaded the operation.
While Beltran’s most memorable moment in a Mets uniform is an unfortunate one — looking at Adam Wainwright’s 3-2 breaking ball with the bases loaded to end Game 7 of the National League Championship Series — he’s still easily one of the greatest players in franchise history. He is third in WAR, fourth in OPS and seventh in home runs and RBIs.
Carlos Beltran of the New York Mets is greeted by Angel Pagan after both score on Beltran’s two-run home run in the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 5, 2011 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California. (Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
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The nine-time All-Star was a consistent force throughout his career, even reaching the Midsummer Classic in his penultimate season as a New York Yankee when he hit .295 with an .850 OPS, 35 home runs and 101 RBIs.
Beltran, a switch hitter, won three Gold Glove Awards while accumulating 2,725 hits, 435 of which were home runs. He also stole 300 bases in his career, making him one of just eight players in MLB history in the 300–300 club. Beltran has the fourth most home runs by a switch hitter, behind Mickey Mantle, Eddie Murray and Chipper Jones.
New York Mets right fielder Carlos Beltran goes for the ball during the third inning of an MLB baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, April 22, 2011 in New York. (Bill Kostroun/AP)
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He is also one of 39 players to both drive in and score at least 1,500 runs. 32 of those players, including Beltran, are in the Hall of Fame. The other seven who aren’t are either tied to performance-enhancing drugs (Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Rafael Palmeiro, Gary Sheffield, Manny Ramirez) or not yet eligible for the Hall of Fame (Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera). In 65 postseason games, Beltran hit .307 with a 1.021 OPS.
