Mets manager Carlos Beltran will have a chance to add to his legacy in Flushing

New York Mets great Carlos Beltran will take over as manager of the ball club in 2020. His legacy with the franchise can grow even more if he’s successful at the job.

Carlos Beltran did a lot during his playing career with the New York Mets. Although at times underappreciated and most remembered for one devastating at-bat in the NLCS, he’s someone who easily falls into the franchise’s top ten of all-time.

Beltran may even one day wear a Mets cap into Cooperstown. Before he does, he’ll have a chance to manage the Metropolitans beginning in 2020.

When it became painfully obvious Brodie Van Wagenen was going to hire a first-time manager, the only hope was the team would at least get a guy fans like. Beltran falls into this category. Despite not having experience as a manager, he’s not far removed from playing the game. We can hope he relates to the players a little more than Mickey Callaway did. As someone who spent many years with both New York teams and played all over the country, he’s about as versatile of a baseball person as you can find.

It won’t take much for Beltran to surpass what Callaway did during his two seasons in Flushing. This doesn’t mean the bar is set low. On the contrary, it’s raised even higher in year two of Van Wagenen and because Beltran has something to prove.

Playing baseball was easy for Beltran. With over 400 career home runs, more than 300 stolen bases, and a trio of Gold Glove Awards, he did everything a ballplayer could want. In his final season back in 2017, he even won a World Series.

In parts of 20 big league seasons, Beltran was a star who never really got the credit he deserved. While playing for some bad Kansas City Royals teams, he first began to show off his power and ability to drive in runs. This carried to every city he played.

Even in his penultimate 2016 season split between the New York Yankees and Texas Rangers at age 39, Beltran walloped 29 home runs and hit .295.

Beltran may not have been the guy everyone wanted to manage the Mets. Before Joe Girardi was hired by the Philadelphia Phillies, he was a favorite for many.

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Say what you will about any man in any profession. Everyone has a freshman year. The 2020 season will be Beltran’s to show us what he can do. Thanks to some very talented players on the roster, Beltran may have a smooth rookie year as a manager.