It took one question during a news conference — ‘When you decided to enter the Hall of Fame as a Met, what stood out to you about the organization?’ — and less than one minute for Carlos Beltrán to hint at his often rocky relationship with the team’s fanbase.
asserted
Beltrán → take → fanbase
“I would say it was my best years in baseball,” Beltrán began, “even though, at times, it felt difficult and it felt different.
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it → say → times
Try it free“Meaning, my relationship and sometimes how things went down — I don’t know the message that was sent out about me as a person or me as a player.
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that → try → player
It’s hard to connect with a fanbase when the message out there is always negative.
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message → ’ → fanbase
The most memorable moment from his Mets career was among his worst, when he could not get a swing off against Adam Wainwright.
uncertain
he → get → Wainwright
He was booed at times.
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He → boo → times
He fought with the team about a knee surgery.
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He → fight → surgery
He spent 2005-11 as a Met, only about one-third of his 20-year MLB career.
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He → spend → career
He spent some of that time as a Yankee, too, which does not further endear him to Mets fans.
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which → spend → fans
And yet, there he was Saturday at Citi Field, slowly walking in from center field to the infield to give a speech to polite, if not overwhelming, cheers, as the franchise celebrated a remarkable and great Met but not quite a beloved one in Queens (even if he was and is in Puerto Rico, which was well-represented).
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which → walk → Rico
Beltrán now is a forever Met, his No. 15 unveiled and hung in the rafters as the organization also formally inducted him into the team’s Hall of Fame.
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organization → unveil → Fame
In doing so, he completed a remarkable journey in which he learned about himself and Mets fans and felt what he called “closure” in being immortalized in a city in which he was not always welcome.
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he → do → which
A small-market star with Kansas City from 1998-2004, Beltrán signed a seven-year, $119 million free agent contract with the Mets that some remember better for his rough beginning — a merely OK 2005 — than for some of the best seasons (notably 2006) in franchise history.
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some → sign → history
“All of a sudden being in New York, there were things that I needed to learn,” said Beltrán, who became the ninth former Mets player with his number retired.
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number → be → that
“I didn’t have those tools in Kansas City — dealing with the media, dealing with the responsibilities, dealing with expectations, dealing with the ups and downs of baseball in a city like New York.
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I → have → York
“It’s the real deal.”
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It → ’ → ?
Among those he thanked was his wife, Jessica, who is a life coach and would tell him that the boos he heard were not personal.
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he → thank → him
“It feels personal,” Beltrán would respond before a soft chuckle.
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Beltrán → feel → chuckle
“They’re pointing at me.”
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They → point → me
But he said his skin grew thicker over the years.
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skin → say → years
Becoming a father to three kids who joined him on the field Saturday has helped him better understand the disappointment that Mets fans displayed in him.
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fans → become → him
“Sometimes, you were hard on me, and that’s OK,” Beltrán said in his speech.
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Beltrán → ’ → speech
“Today as a father, I realize I am hard on my own children, too, not because I love them less but because they are capable of more.
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they → realize → more
“Back then, I did not understand it.
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I → understand → it
Today, I do.”
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I → do → ?
Beltrán did not win a World Series with the Mets and is the face of their 2006 regret, striking out to end Game 7 against the Cardinals.
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Beltrán → win → Cardinals
But by the numbers, there have been very few Mets who have been better, ranking in the organization’s top 10 in home runs, RBIs, runs scored, on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
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who → rank → base
He also has returned — actually, a few times — to the organization, currently serving as an adviser to president of baseball operations David Stearns and could have a path toward becoming the team’s next manager if he wants.
uncertain
he → return → path
He does not have the reputation of the former players whose numbers his No. 15 now lives alongside — Wright, Darryl Strawberry, Dwight Gooden, Willie Mays, Keith Hernandez, Jerry Koosman, Mike Piazza and Tom Seaver — but the relationship has improved and is improving, which might have been best highlighted by Beltrán choosing a Mets cap on his Cooperstown bust.
uncertain
Beltrán → have → bust
“I will always be proud to say I was, and I will always be, a New York Met,” Beltran told the crowd.
asserted
Beltran → say → crowd
The Aporia
