Yankees Birthday of the Day: Carlos Beltrán

Q: What teams did Carlos Beltrán play for in his MLB career?

Carlos Beltrán played for the Kansas City Royals, Houston Astros, New York Mets, San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, and New York Yankees during his MLB career.

Q: When did Carlos Beltrán play for the New York Yankees?

Carlos Beltrán played for the New York Yankees from 2014 to 2016.

Q: What were Carlos Beltrán's notable achievements in MLB?

Carlos Beltrán was a two-time All-Star, won the AL Rookie of the Year award in 1999, and is recognized for his impressive postseason performances.

Q: Why is Carlos Beltrán remembered as a Hall of Famer?

Carlos Beltrán is remembered as a Hall of Famer due to his exceptional career statistics, including a .279 batting average and significant contributions to multiple playoff teams.

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 Beltrán** *Born:* April 24, 1977 (Manati, Puerto Rico) *Yankees Tenure:* 2014-16 Carlos 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 ’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, . The 2000 season was a downer after ‘99, as Beltrán dealt with injury and . 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 . 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 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 . Off the back of that, Beltrán hit the free agent market and eventually came to a deal with 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, 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 fell to the . Beltrán again hit the free agent market and this time did come to an agreement with the Yankees. Having lost , 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 as they lost the AL Wild Card Game, getting shutout by Houston. Beltrán’s best season with the team came in 2016. In 99 games, he OPSed .890 (133 wRC+) with 22 home runs. However, the team was going nowhere and ended up decided to do a bit of a rebuild. The Yankees basically traded away anyone of value who was near free agency, and Beltrán ended up being one of those names. At the trade deadline, he was sent to the Rangers for prospects Nick Green, and . He helped win the AL West, but they lost in the ALDS to the Blue Jays. After that season, he signed with the Astros in 2017, helping them win a World Series. That season would become known for something else, which we’ll get to. Beltrán retired after 2017. He interviewed for the Yankees’ manager gig when Aaron Boone got it and eventually rejoined the Yankees as a consultant. Ahead of the 2020 season, he was then hired as the new manager of the Mets, but he never would manage a game. That same winter, the details of the Astros’ sign-stealing scheme were reported, which took place in 2017, when Beltrán played there. The investigations into the scheme pinned a lot on Beltrán himself, and the Mets ended up letting him go before the season. Since then, Beltrán has done a little bit of work for the YES Network and has had some front office roles back with the Mets. The sign-stealing scandal might have had a bit of an effect on his Hall of Fame prospects, but he was voted in this past winter and will be inducted later this summer.