WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 12: Carlos Beltran #15 of the New York Mets leads off base during the game against the Washington Nationals on April 12, 2006 at RFK Stadium in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
QUEENS, NY — There will be validation and closure for Carlos Beltran when his No. 15 is officially retired by the Mets on Sept. 19 at Citi Field, which, at surface level, seems somewhat puzzling.
This was one of the best all-around center fielders of an entire generation who spent his best seasons with the Mets during a seven-year stay in Queens. A nine-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove winner, Beltran amassed 435 home runs, 312 stolen bases, and 2,725 hits in a 20-year career. He is one of just four players in MLB history with at least 1,500 runs scored, 2,700 hits, 400 home runs, and 300 steals, along with Barry Bonds, Willie Mays, and Alex Rodriguez.
He was always destined for Cooperstown, which came to fruition in January when he was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026 by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA). There, he will be just the third player to don a Mets cap on his plaque upon enshrinement this July, joining the legendary Tom Seaver and Mike Piazza.
He slashed .280/.369/.500 (.869 OPS) with 149 home runs and 559 RBI with the Mets. He finished fourth in the National League MVP voting in 2006, when he became just the third Met in franchise history to eclipse the 40-home-run mark (41) to go with 116 RBI.
He ranks third in franchise history with a 31.1 WAR, sixth in on-base percentage and slugging percentage, fourth in OPS, and seventh in home runs and RBI.
Yet, Beltran’s career in New York is ambiguous.
He did not win anything during his seven years with the team, and many remember him for looking at Adam Wainwright’s curveball to end Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS against the St. Louis Cardinals — an at-bat that former owner Jeff Wilpon imitated when asked by the New Yorker in 2011 if the Mets were cursed.
“At times, I felt like I was misunderstood,” Beltran said on Tuesday. “It’s sweet. It’s bitter at times because I felt that there were moments where I was doing everything possible to try to connect with the fan base, and for some reason, at times, it was hard because the message that was delivered sometimes out there about me didn’t allow me to connect with the fans. But believe it or not, this was the team where I felt like I grew the most as a character, as an individual, as a player.
“When I think about my career, I tried to be the best teammate possible for the people around me. But at times, I felt the connection was not there. The fact is that I see myself as a Met; my identity as a baseball player is here.”
He had often been vocal about the tension between him and the Mets after he was traded away in 2011, particularly when he had knee surgery during his final year in Queens against the club’s wishes.
In 2013, he went as far as to say the Mets tried to “paint me as a bad apple.”
“When somebody’s trying to hurt you in a personal way, trying to put things out there that are not me, then we have trouble,” he then said. “Now it’s personal.”
Then, of course, there was his role in the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal, which led to his firing just weeks after being named Mets manager in 2019. But the ever-moving and subjective scale of forgiveness in Major League Baseball dictated that time — a few short years — would wipe the slate clean. Beltran rejoined the Steve Cohen-owned Mets in 2023 as a special assistant and has worked with president of baseball operations, David Stearns, since his arrival the following year.
“That’s in the past,” Beltran said. “Right now, the relationship that I have with the Mets organization, the relationship that I have with ownership, and everybody here is super positive. I love it. I love being around the team, I love being around the ballpark. I get to receive the love from the fans, which is always amazing. When I was a kid, I dreamed about becoming a baseball player and having an opportunity to provide for my family… I always dreamed about fans reaching out, asking for autographs, and I got to experience that. To me, it’s one of those dreams where, when it became a reality, I try to be present for the fans, for the people around me.”
Misunderstood or not, Beltran will be celebrated by the same fan base that ceaselessly debated his credentials for the better part of the last 20 years, first in July at his Hall-of-Fame induction, then in September when that No. 15 joins the 10 others atop Citi Field.
He is also celebrating his daughter’s acceptance to Columbia University.
“I’m thinking about maybe a tattoo with ’26,’” Beltran joked. “My first tattoo, I don’t have any.”
