COOPERSTOWN \u2014 The Mets spent the most money in franchise history, joining the Dodgers to invite the kind of scrutiny that has owners pushing for a salary cap, to field what is currently the third-worst team in baseball and destined for a sell-off. <\/p>\n
A well-liked manager has been fired. <\/p>\n
Popular stars from past seasons are gone, in some cases leaving without offers from the Mets to retain them. <\/p>\n
New additions have, almost universally, disappointed. <\/p>\n
The club\u2019s owner has acknowledged there has been \u201cregression\u201d within the farm system.<\/p>\n
In nearly every way, it is difficult to be affiliated with the Mets these days. <\/p>\n
Into this moment stepped Carlos Beltr\u00e1n, who did not have to choose the Mets on his Hall of Fame plaque but did, and who did not have to express such pride in the organization but did.<\/p>\n
Carlos Beltr\u00e1n is pictured during his Hall of Fame induction ceremony July 26. Charles Wenzelberg<\/p>\n
\u201cTo Steve and Alex Cohen, I know this year might not look pretty,\u201d the newly inducted Hall of Famer said during his speech on an idyllic and sunny afternoon here, \u201cbut what makes me proud is the culture that you have been able to create: making players, families, and employee values [important].<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd especially myself \u2014 having experience in different chapters in the Mets organization, I have to tell you guys that I have never been prouder to call myself a Met.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beltr\u00e1n is officially called a Hall of Famer, the star of stars at a ceremony that also enshrined Andruw Jones and Jeff Kent.<\/p>\n
Of the estimated 12,000 in attendance, the largest contingent probably was not Mets fans or Braves fans or Giants fans but Puerto Ricans, who were loud with a call-and-answer \u201cPuerto Rico\u201d cheer as he stepped to the microphone.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re proud, man, we\u2019re proud people,\u201d the sixth Puerto Rican elected later said.<\/p>\n
The family of Carlos Beltr\u00e1n is pictured during his Hall of Fame induction ceremony July 26. Charles Wenzelberg<\/p>\n
With 57 Hall of Famers sitting on the stage behind him, Beltr\u00e1n used 17 minutes Sunday to tour through his life and career, thank as many people as he could and explain why he forever will be seen as a Met \u2014 but only after a pretaped introduction by former teammate Carlos Delgado.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Among those Beltr\u00e1n thanked: his parents (who heard a message in Spanish), his wife, Jessica, their children, his island, various former coaches and teammates, members of the Baseball Writers\u2019 Association of America who voted for him and members who did not, and commissioner Rob Manfred \u2014 who presided over the report that named Beltr\u00e1n (and no other player) as a key figure in the Astros\u2019 sign-stealing scandal that helped them win the 2017 World Series.<\/p>\n
Not mentioned in the speech was the scheme, which played a part in Beltr\u00e1n being held out of the Hall until his fourth year on the ballot.<\/p>\n
An otherwise strong reputation as a person and leader, nine All-Star Games, three Gold Gloves and undeniable offensive numbers from a player who blended power and speed like few others \u2014 he finished with 435 home runs and 312 steals, joining a 400-300 club that consists of Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Willie Mays and Andre Dawson \u2014 ensured he reached baseball immortality.<\/p>\n
Carlos Beltr\u00e1n, pictured as the second from the left, holds his plaque during his Hall of Fame induction ceremony on July 26. Charles Wenzelberg \/ New York Post<\/p>\n
Forever, his bronze plaque will show that he was a Met and not a Royal, where he also spent 6 \u00b9\/\u2082 seasons. <\/p>\n
With the Mets from 2005 to 2011, Beltr\u00e1n said he grew the most and became \u201cthe best version of myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
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It is also a place to which he has returned, briefly a manager before the scandal broke in 2020, and now a special assistant to David Stearns, who along with the Cohens was present at the ceremony. <\/p>\n
Beltr\u00e1n\u2019s No. 15 will be retired at Citi Field on Sept. 19, and surely at the event will be another Mets figure whom Beltr\u00e1n thanked: Terry Collins, who managed Beltr\u00e1n in 2011.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou reminded me, Terry, that setbacks don\u2019t really define us,\u201d said Beltr\u00e1n, who had to overcome several setbacks, most notably a rough first season in Queens. \u201cWhat defines us is how we respond to them.<\/p>\n
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\u201cSo the fact that you took your time to connect with me, to push me, to encourage me, to challenge me \u2014 I appreciate my friend [and] our relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of the Yankees, with whom he starred from 2014 to 2016, Beltr\u00e1n referenced how heavy the pinstripes were, calling the honor of playing for such a prestigious organization \u201cnot only a privilege, it\u2019s a responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n
But as became a theme in speech and in his career, he then returned to Queens.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then, the New York Mets,\u201d Beltr\u00e1n, the third Hall of Famer with a Mets cap on his plaque, said to cheers. \u201cEvery organization shaped your career. New York shaped my life. It was here where I experienced my greatest success and some of my greatest challenges.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlaying for the Mets made me a better man and a better leader.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"COOPERSTOWN \u2014 The Mets spent the most money in franchise history, joining the Dodgers to invite the kind…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":828857,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[558],"tags":[64,63,47878,173216,591,1830,85],"class_list":["post-828856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-baseball-hall-of-fame","tag-carlos-beltran","tag-mlb","tag-new-york-mets","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/828856","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=828856"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/828856\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/828857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=828856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=828856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=828856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}