The New York Mets have named Carlos Beltran as their manager for the 2020 Major League Baseball regular season. This will be Beltran’s first managerial position, as he takes over from Mickey Callaway, who was fired on October 3.
A native of Manati, Puerto Rico, Beltran played 20 years in Major League Baseball with the Kansas City Royals, Houston Astros, New York Mets, San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals and New York Yankees from 1998-2017. A nine-time all-star, Beltran was the 1999 American League rookie of the year with the Royals. That year he batted .293 with 22 home runs and 108 runs batted in. He was also a three-time gold glove award winner with the New York Mets from 2006-2008.
Beltran displayed his best offensive season while with the Mets. In 2006, he had career highs in runs (121), home runs (41), runs batted in (116) and slugging percentage (.594).
A switch hitter, Beltran was 41st all-time in runs batted in with 1587. The all-time leader is Hank Aaron with 2297 runs batted in.
The Mets had a record of 86 wins and 76 losses in 2019, and the firing of Callaway could have been considered a surprise to some as the Mets exceeded expectations. However, a change was made as the two teams in front of them in the National League East exceeded expectations more. The Atlanta Braves won the NL East by winning 97 games, the second most in the National League. While all the second place Washington Nationals accomplished this season was winning the World Series.
There is no doubt that Beltran has a combination of youth and veterans to work with. First baseman Pete Alonso not only will win the NL rookie of the year, but needs to be in the conversation as NL MVP. Beltran will also be managing three strong starting pitchers in Jacob deGrom, Marcus Stroman and Noah Syndergaard, and position players Jeff McNeil and Robinson Cano.
