Carlos Beltran – Marquee Player?

By Joe Janish
Posted Friday, June 22, 2007

When Carlos Beltran signed a 7-year, $119M contract in 2005, the Mets assumed they were getting a marquee player, an all-around superstar in the prime of his career, a cornerstone type you can build a team around. They thought they were getting a talent that could carry a team on his shoulders.

Did they?

After his initial season, most would say they did not. He struggled with the New York spotlight, nagging injuries (that he played through), and the lack of protection in a feeble lineup. His disappointing output – 16 homeruns, 78 RBI, and .266 average – angered New York fans to the point that he became the object of boos by season’s end.

Fast forward to this year, with Beltran again on pace to hit .266, and one must wonder how long before the boo-birds return. Further, how long before Beltran becomes the player of 2006?

As in 2005, Beltran is trying to do too much with his at-bats. With Carlos Delgado slumping, David Wright up and down, and Moises missing in action, Beltran is allowing the weight to fall on his shoulders, trying to justify his exorbitant contract. A clear example came in last weekend’s game against the Yankees, with two outs, the bases loaded, and the Mets down by three against Mariano Rivera. Rivera was struggling, and labored through two tough at-bats by Carlos Gomez and Jose Reyes. The previous batters in the inning got to Rivera by being patient, working the count, and getting base hits with shortened strokes. By the time Beltran came to bat, Rivera had thrown 32 pitches, and close to fatigue. You don’t have to be a genius to know what to do in such a situation, but Beltran jumped on the first pitch he saw, popping it up weakly in foul territory near the third-base dugout to end the game.

There is only one way a batter pops up in that situation: he’s looking to hit a home run. Popups occur early in counts when batters are looking to get lift on the ball, and are a fraction of a second too late. Carlos Beltran was trying to be the hero by hitting a grand slam to put the Mets ahead, rather than staying the course and finding a way to extend the inning. It did not make sense for many reasons, the main one being that Rivera was far from being at his best. Normally, against a fresh Rivera, you have to take what he will give you. But at that moment, he was nearly done, and a hitter using his head would recognize that fact --- and approach the at-bat accordingly.

That one particular at-bat is not brought up as a way to blame Beltran for the Mets losing that game. Rather, it is a glaring indication of what may be going on inside Beltran’s head. He can say what he wants about his sore quad, but pain is not what’s on his mind when he comes up to the plate in RBI situations – it’s heroics.

On the one hand, you can’t fault a guy for wanting to do too much. On the other, for a gifted athlete to reach his potential, he must eventually simplify his approach, and focus on the specific current task – removing all other, useless thoughts from his mind. For example, thinking about the score does not help a person hit a curveball (yes, one should know the score, but concentration on the score must leave the mind once in the batter’s box). Having the thought that the next guy might fail does not increase bat speed; neither does thinking about justifying a multi-million-dollar contract.

The stress is apparent on Carlos Beltran’s face, and in his body language – he’s carrying himself similarly to 2005, and again it has nothing to do with his injured leg. Beltran would do well to watch the nine-figure superstar on the other side of town, Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod had that same tension flowing through his body in his first few years with the Yankees. Even in his MVP year, you could see Rodriguez holding back --- a scary thought, but one that has been proven with this season. Finally, in 2007. A-Rod has shed the weight of the world from his shoulders (actually, released the impeding thoughts from his mind), and is showing all of MLB what happens when he plays tension-free, and focused on execution.

Beltran was there – mentally – in 2006, most likely because he had Carlos Delgado and others behind him. He was also there at the end of 2004, batting second in a lineup that also featured Lance Berkman, Jeff Bagwell, Jeff Kent, and Craig Biggio. Looking back on his best days in Kansas City, Mike Sweeney was “the man”, and having Raul Ibanez around didn’t hurt either. Surrounded by stars, Beltran can flourish, because he can relax and let his talent take over. However, when he looks around and sees himself as “the main man”, he allows the internal, self-imposed pressures to affect his play.

In other words, the Mets spent $119 million for a complementary player --- not a go-to guy. Let’s hope that Carlos Delgado can either find his stroke, or David Wright becomes Mike Schmidt. Otherwise, it’s going to be a season of disappointment, waiting for Carlos Beltran to carry the Mets.