Wed 15 Oct 2008
Saw this post on Beyond The Box Score where they ranked the ten best center fielders in baseball and Carlos Beltran ranked #2 while Grady Sizemore beat out Beltran for the top spot. Here is the comment on Beltran:
2. Carlos Beltran (53 off, 13 def, 66 tot) – No matter what the Manhattan-based publications tell you, Beltran is one of the ten best position players in the world. He gets on base, hits for power, steals bases without being thrown out, plays center field, and runs down everything out there. Given what Manny and Tex are going to sign for this year (and what Andruw Jones signed for last year), his $18MM yearly salary is a steal.
Beltran gets a ton of heat from Mets fans and it seems he is more appreciated outside of Flushing, mostly due to his quiet demeanor but when you look back to when he was signed he has done everything you could ask of him and as far as Fielding goes there is no better center fielder in baseball.
October 15th, 2008 at 11:57 am
You better believe he is underappreciated. I’ve been defending him all year. In 10 full seasons, he is averaging 102 runs scored and 98 rbi. Not only that, he is a gold glove quality center fielder, and runs the bases well, and despite his reputation, plays hurt. Witness his return froma broken face against doctor’s recommendations. Keep up those offensive numbers for another 5 years and if he was well liked, he’d be headed for Cooperstown. As far as I can tell, what Mets fans have against him, is he is quiet, he struck out looking to end the NLCS in 2006, he had a poor first year with the Mets and he was willing to play for the Yankees for less money. Let’s look at these reasons. First, who should care if he is quiet if he produces on the field, but NY always loves a self promoter. Second, he struck out looking…. It was a knee buckling curveball as I recall. Just about any batter in either league would have watched it go by. As far as his poor first year goes, there are legions of stars that have had poor first years while adjusting to NYC. Last, preferring to play for the Yankees. Lets face it, at the time who wouldn’t prefer playing for a team that went to the playoffs every single year. GET OVER IT METS FANS. As Max Kellerman (who I rarely agree with) said on his ESPN radio show when Carlos Delgado was being discussed as a possible MVP candidate, “He isn’t even the MVP of the Mets. he isn’t even the MVC (Most Valuable Carlos) of the Mets.
October 15th, 2008 at 7:42 pm
Thanks for the link! I’ll have to stop by here more often.
Go Beltran.