NEW YORK, NY - JULY 24: Carlos Beltran #36 of the New York Yankees celebrates after scoring on single by Starlin Castro in the sixth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Yankee Stadium on July 24, 2016 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) | Getty Images Carlos Beltrán only spent a very small part near the end of his career with the Yankees. However, for as short as his tenure was, there was always something about him in pinstripes that felt natural. Maybe it was that he had been connected to the team before during his prior times on the free agent market.
Maybe it was just that he grew up a Yankees’ fan and had a desire to play for the team.When the average baseball fans thinks of Beltrán’s now Hall of Fame career, they probably won’t remember him as a Yankee, but he did have an interesting little stint in the Bronx.Carlos Ivan BeltránBorn: April 24, 1977 (Manati, Puerto Rico)Yankees Tenure: 2014-16Carlos Beltrán was born and raised in baseball-loving Puerto Rico as the second of four children. He fell in love with baseball and, as mentioned, the New York Yankees. However, after a sterling amateur career, he was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the second round of the 1995 MLB Draft.Beltrán got off to a very slow start to his minor league career, before breaking out and then rocketing through Kansas City’s system in 1998.
After starting the year in High-A ball, he impressed and earned several promotions, including all the way to the big leagues for a September cup of coffee.The following season, Beltrán got the Royals’ starting center field job to start the year and he more than made the most of it. In 1999, he hit .293/.337/.454 while also playing good defense out in center. He was rewarded with the AL Rookie of the Year for the season, receiving all but two of the first-place votes.The 2000 season was a downer after ‘99, as Beltrán dealt with injury and a tiff with the Kansas City organization as a result of the missed time.
However, he rebounded in 2001 and began to develop into a star. From 2001-03, he OPSed .876 and put up 16.7 fWAR.As the calendar turned to 2004, Beltrán was set to become a free agent following the season. He and the Royals had tried and failed to come to terms on a contract, with the outfielder making it clear that he wouldn’t take a hometown discount and wanted to play for a winner.
After another hot start to that season, the Royals decided they had to move their star before losing him for nothing, and traded him to the Astros in June.In Houston, Beltrán famously had one of the most impressive post-trade stretches ever. In 90 games with the Astros, he put up a 133 wRC+, while accruing 4.0 fWAR just in those months alone. Although they were only five games back, the Astros had been in last in the NL Central when they acquired Beltrán.
From that day on, they went 54-36, including 23-7 from September on. That allowed them to win the NL Wild Card spot by just one game over the Giants. Appearing in the playoffs for the first time, Beltrán then OPSed 1.557 as Houston advanced to the NLCS, where they fell to the Cardinals.Off the back of that, Beltrán hit the free agent market and eventually came to a deal with the Mets for seven years and $119 million.
There were reports that the Yankees were his first choice and he even offered them a slight discount from the Mets’ offer, but the team had Bernie Williams, who had still been a good hitter in the previous seasons. In retrospect, the Yankees should’ve taken up Beltrán, but I guess you might not have been able to fully predict Williams’ fall off, with the team letting him go after 2006.Over the course of his seven years in Queens, Beltrán was stellar. He hit .280/.369/.500 and was worth 31.1 rWAR or 29.3 fWAR.
However, there are also still a lot of Mets’ fans where if you mention his name, only one thing will be remembered. Yes, he was the batter who was caught looking to end Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS with the bases loaded.Beltrán’s Mets tenure came to an end in 2011 when he was again subject of a mid-season trade. That one sent him to the Giants, and while he played well there, San Francisco missed the playoffs, as that era of the team only performed in even years.After that season, he again became a free agent and joined the Cardinals on a two-year deal.
Beltrán continued to produce there and got to play in the World Series for the first time with the 2013 Cardinals. However, he and St. Louis fell to the Red Sox.Beltrán again hit the free agent market and this time did come to an agreement with the Yankees.
Having lost Robinson Canó, the Yankees signed a bunch of other options instead, and Beltrán was one of those, inking a three-year deal.Beltrán’s debut season in the Bronx was a bit of a step back, as his 98 OPS+ was his worst in nearly a decade. However, he rebounded with a better 2015, helping the team return to the postseason. He was then one of very few Yankees to do anything on offense a