Six years after Carlos Beltran was supposed to manage the New York Mets, the organization is making him the face of the franchise once again.
The Mets hired Beltran, a recent Hall of Fame electee, ahead of the 2020 MLB season to make him their next manager after firing Mickey Callaway. However, as the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal, which Beltran participated in, was unearthed, he and the organization parted ways without him ever managing a game.
But on Monday, the team announced that Beltran’s No. 15 will be retired on Sept. 19.
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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 this summer will feature a Mets cap, making him the third player to represent the Mets in Cooperstown, along with Tom Seaver and Mike Piazza.
When MLB announced its findings into the investigation into the Astros in 2020, Beltran was the only player named in the MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred’s report.
It has widely been 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 is still easily one of the greatest players in franchise history. He ranks third in WAR, fourth in OPS, and seventh in home runs and RBIs.
The nine-time All-Star was a consistent force throughout his entire career, even making the Midsummer Classic in his second-to-last 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, trailing Mickey Mantle, Eddie Murray and Chipper Jones.
He is also one of 39 players to both drive in and score at least 1,500 runs. Thirty-two 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 are not yet eligible for the Hall of Fame (Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera). In 65 postseason games, Beltran hit .307 with a 1.021 OPS.
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