Carlos Beltrán named Manager for New York Mets
On November 1, the New York Mets announced that they have named Carlos Beltrán the 22nd manager in team history, agreeing to terms on a three-year contract with a club option for a fourth year.
Beltrán, 42, has spent the past year as a special advisor for the New York Yankees. He last played in the majors in 2017, winning the World Series with the Houston Astros. During his 20-year major league career, he was a nine-time All-Star, three-time Gold Glove Award winner, two-time Silver Slugger Award winner and was named the 1999 American League Rookie of the Year.
Beltrán played with the Mets from 2005-2011. He ranks sixth on the club’s all-time list in the following categories: home runs (149), RBI (559), extra-base hits (374), on-base percentage (.369) and slugging percentage (.500).
“Congratulations to Carlos. We are thrilled, as we know our passionate fans will be, to have him back in the family,” said Mets COO Jeff Wilpon. “Thanks to Brodie and the entire baseball operations staff on this expansive, diverse and collaborative managerial search process.”
Beltán will be the ninth person to both play for and manage the Mets, joining Gil Hodges, Yogi Berra, Joe Torre, Bud Harrelson, Roy McMillan, Dallas Green, Bobby Valentine, Willie Randolph (as well as interim manager Mike Cubbage).
“Thanks to Jeff and the ownership group for their ongoing support as we worked through a very detailed managerial search process,” said Mets Executive Vice President and General Manager Brodie Van Wagenen. “We are very excited to bring Carlos on board as our next manager and re-introduce him to Mets fans next week.”
Beltrán was the fifth player in major league history to hit 400 homers and steal 300 bases. He had 2,725 hits, 565 doubles, 435 homers, 1,587 RBI and 312 stolen bases with a .279/.350/.486 slash line during his career. Beltrán played for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic in 2006, 2009, 2013 and 2017.
Beltran is the fourth manager born in Puerto Rico among the current group, joining Boston’s Alex Cora, Toronto’s Charlie Montoyo and Washington’s Dave Martinez. Martinez and Cora have led their teams to the past two World Series titles.
Beltran signed a $119 million, seven-year contract with the Mets in January 2005 and helped them win the NL East in 2006, but he took a called third strike with the bases loaded against Adam Wainwright, ending New York’s 3-1 loss to St. Louis in Game 7 of the 2006 NL Championship Series. ~ ESPN
(Source: MLB)
~ Posted by: Richard Webster, Ace News Today / Follow Richard on Facebook and Twitter
