In 1995, The Kansas City Royals drafted outfielder Carlos Beltran in the
second round of The Major League Baseball Draft. Beltran along with
Carlos Febles and Johnny Damon were expected to return The Royals to
prominence. In playing on some bad teams in Kansas City, Beltran was
able to win The American League Rookie of The Year Award in 1999.
Beltran made a name for himself in 2004 when The Royals traded the
switch-hitter to The Houston Astros. Beltran helped The Astros reach the
postseason and he also tied Barry Bonds’ record of 8 home runs in a
single postseason. Beltran’s success earned him a 7-year, $119 million
contract with The New York Mets.
The Mets brought Beltran in to be the face of their franchise. Beltran
initially struggled like many players have after earning a large
contract on the free agent market. In his first season with The Mets,
Beltran’s batting average was only .266 to combine with 16 home runs and
78 runs batted in. The next season saw Beltran tie a single-season
franchise record for The Mets with 41 home runs. This success could be
attributed to Beltran hitting in front of power-hitter Carlos Delgado.
Beltran had a good career with The Mets, but some fans and media members
will never forgive him for striking out with the bases loaded to end
Game 7 of The 2006 National League Championship Series against The St.
Louis Cardinals.
In late July 2011, The Mets traded Beltran and his expiring contract to
The San Francisco Giants. The Giants needed another bat in their lineup
as they were trying to repeat as World Series Champions. Beltran could
not help The Giants return to the playoffs. After the season was over he
signed a two-year deal with The Cardinals.
The Cardinals entered this season as defending World Series Champions,
but were trying to fill huge voids. The Cardinals longtime manager Tony
La Russa had retired. St. Louis also saw All-Star first baseman Albert
Pujols leave as a free agent and sign with The Los Angeles Angels.
Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak became crafty as he used the
money that The Cardinals would have used to sign Pujols to fill multiple
voids on the team. One of those voids has been filled by Beltran.
By signing Beltran, St. Louis was able to move Lance Berkman from right
field to first base which has enabled the team to have better defense in
the field. Nobody would have been able to foresee how Beltran would
help the club offensively.
Beltran’s 12 home runs on the season are tied with Matt Kemp of The Los
Angeles Dodgers to lead The National League. In the past 10 games
Beltran has it 7 homers including a grand slam that was apart of a two
home run game for him versus The Arizona Diamondbacks on May 8.
Beltran’s resurgence is also seeing him check in with a .307 batting
average.
Although The Cardinals are trying to repeat as World Series Champions,
there isn’t pressure on Beltran like the type that he previously faced
in Kansas City and New York. Beltran only has to be one of the guys in
St. Louis. Beltran gets lost in the shuffle because The Cards have
All-Star Matt Holliday, Berkman, Allen Craig, and the emerging David
Freese. Beltran is on pace to go over the 30 home run mark in a season
for the first time since 2007. Beltran has always been a quiet guy that
lets his play on the field do the talking. At this rate Beltran’s bat
might talk him to his first ever World Series Title.
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