By Jordan Long
Houston Astros designated hitter Carlos Beltran decided to retire from the game of baseball after winning the World Series. He leaves the game as a championship winner. Beltran played 20 Major League seasons for 7 teams including the Kansas City Royals, Houston Astros, New York Mets, San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Yankees, and Texas Rangers. It was time for him to step away.
Beltran spent his first 5 ½ years with the Kansas City Royals as an outfielder, playing mostly center field. He wasn’t a great outfielder with Kansas City with a total of 39 errors. As a hitter, his best year at the plate was in 2003 when he hit 26 home runs, 100 RBI’s and a .307 batting average.
Beltran reached a 7-year $119 million contract with the New York Mets. He spent the next 7 seasons with the Mets. He was hoping to help this team to a postseason run. It didn’t happen but he had his top years in New York. In 2006, he hit a career best of 41 home runs while hitting .275. He finished the 2011 season with the San Francisco Giants.
Beltran was a free agent yet again and decided to go to St. Louis to spend 2012 and 2013. St. Louis made the playoffs in 2013 and went all the way to the World Series. Beltran was hoping for his first World Series ring. It didn’t happen as the Boston Red Sox beat them in 6 games. He headed to New York for 2014, 2015, and 2016. It didn’t last. He was traded to the Texas Rangers in 2016.
This past season for the Astros Beltran hit .231, 14 home runs, and 51 RBI’s. He couldn’t play baseball at a high level anymore. In the playoffs he hit .150 with 1
RBI but the Astros won the World Series.
According to ESPN, Beltran said, “I am blessed to have shared all of my experiences with my wife and my three kids, my family and friends. To have so many loving fans. To have been able to build a school in Puerto Rico and change the lives of so many kids. To have won the Roberto Clemente Award, which is the greatest honor I could have ever received as a ballplayer. And I am blessed to be a champion. But now, my time as a player has come to an end.”
It was time for him to leave the game. He has done everything a player could in Major League Baseball. Beltran went to 9 All-Star Games and won 3 Gold Gloves. The only thing left on his resume was a World Series win which he did this past year. He ends his Major League Baseball career hitting .279 with 435 home runs and 1,587 RBI’s. He may not be enshrined into the Baseball Hall Of Fame, but will go down as a decent hitter.
What do you think of Carlos Beltran retiring from the game of baseball?
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