3 reasons Hall of Famer Carlos Beltran’s NY Mets legacy isn’t what it should be

The numbers, the awards, the attitude…everything about Carlos Beltran make him an all-time New York Mets legend. He goes into the National Baseball Hall of Fame this upcoming weekend and yet it doesn’t seem to even be a major discussion. He’ll join an elite company of only three players to wear a Mets cap into Cooperstown. The other two, Tom Seaver and Mike Piazza, couldn’t have had a much different legacy.

Piazza is the better comparison to Beltran based on the idea that neither were homegrown. The best at their positions with a stronger argument that Piazza wasn’t (if you think Gary Carter was), why is it that Beltran isn’t held in the same regard?

Why Carlos Beltran is a Hall of Famer yet hardly a Mets icon

1) His most memorable moment was a bad one

When you think of Beltran and the Mets, a few things come to mind. His 41-home run season, his collision with Mike Cameron, and maybe even how he was traded for Zack Wheeler. The singular on-field moment aside from the collision is the ending to the 2006 NLCS when Beltran was struck out looking to end the season.

The Mets wouldn’t make it back to the playoffs again until 2015. A lame swing from Beltran might have made this less infamous. The bat on the shoulder, Beltran baffled by the pitch, is what makes it stick.

2) He played for way too many teams

In parts of 7 seasons and 839 games, Beltran spent more time with the Mets than anyone else. He started off with the Kansas City Royals, but would log slightly more time with the Mets. He ended up playing through 2017 in his age 40 season. A year which would give him the reputation as a cheater for his involvement with the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal, his longer career after leaving the Mets was more tarnished because we thought of him less and less as an actual Mets player and more of a guy who regularly changed uniforms.

Beltran is a result of MLB free agency and being a midseason trade piece multiple times in his career. It’s difficult to really identify him largely enough with one single team. His best postseason performance came in tour number one with the Astros. He had some really good years with the St. Louis Cardinals. 

3) He wasn’t the most popular player on his team

Beltran was never the most popular player on the Mets roster during his time in New York. Piazza was still there in 2005. Young up-and-coming fan favorites Jose Reyes and David Wright were the ones who became the most beloved. A down first year with the team didn’t help matters. He seemed like just another guy brought in from the outside during a time when the Mets were actually somewhat successful with major free agent additions.

It’s never easy for an outsider to become the most popular player on his own team. Playing alongside Wright made it impossible. Beltran arrived maybe a year too early or late. He wasn’t a finishing touch to get the team back to the playoffs nor was he the first in a series of major impactful players. As great as he was, and there’s no doubt about that, he didn’t connect the way others were able to. No future opportunities to help overcome his poor playoff at-bat, a severe lack of big moments with the Mets and plenty with other teams has him feeling less so like a pure Mets Hall of Famer and more like a general legend.

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