His tenure with the Mets had its share of ups and downs, mostly ups in my opinion. Met fans will always recall his whiff against Wainwright but anyone with any sense won't make that his legacy. His departure wasn't ideal, but at that point the Mets weren't going anywhere and the trade for Wheeler helped cement the future of the organization.
So, after his half season with the Giants he signed a two year deal with the Cardinals. He made the world series. His two outstanding seasons with the red birds landed him a three year contract with the over zealous Yankees at the ripe age of 37 and only making 2 million less per year than he was making in his prime with the Mets. You are probably asking what my problem is? Well here goes...
In his press conference he slighted the Mets. BIG time. I get it, he feels like he was the target and I would agree for the most part. What I don't understand is why wait until he signs with the a$$ hats across town? Why not blow this up two years ago when signing with the Cardinals? Carlos has always taken the high road with ANYTHING in his career. Why wait until now? This organization paid him a kings ransom. They paid him so much that he is able to set his family up for generations and even allowed him to build up the baseball world in his country with his academy.
Baseball is a business as Carlos has a firm grasp on that. In any business the top paid dogs are always a target. That is how is has been and will be. It pains me to say it but two words Carlos. Shut up.
I agree that Beltran was extremely underappreciated during his Mets tenure and is one of the all-time best outfielders to play in Queens. That said, his Mets career does not rank above Strawberry's. Darryl's numbers may not look as strong today in the shadow of the steroid numbers of the past 15 years, but he was a 30/30 player at a time when 20 HR was considered a legitimate power season. His OPS+ numbers over 1983-90 are far superior to Beltran' overall tenure.
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