Opinion: Mets ignore Astros incident and retire Carlos Beltran’s number 15

Carlos Beltran (Arturo Pardavila III, Wikimedia Commons)

According to ESPN on Monday, the New York Mets will be retiring the number 15 of Carlos Beltran on September 19 when the Mets host the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field in Flushing, New York. Beltran, an outfielder from Manati, Puerto Rico, played seven seasons for the Mets from 2005 to 2011.

The ceremony could be considered a little controversial however. That is because Beltran was named the manager of the Mets on November 1, 2019, and parted ways with the Mets on January 16, 2020 when it was allegedly determined he was involved in the Houston Astros sign stealing scandal as a player. The sign stealing scandal is considered one of the darkest moments in Major League Baseball over the last decade and Beltran is not only being honoured by the Mets, but Major League Baseball too. Beltran is being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2026. 

Beltran was a five-time National League All-Star with the Mets. He was honoured in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2011. During 839 games played, 3133 at bats and 3640 plate appearances, Beltran had 149 home runs, 559 runs batted in with a batting average of .280. He scored 551 runs and had 878 hits, 208 doubles, 17 triples, 100 stolen bases, 449 walks, 1567 total bases, seven sacrifice bunts and 38 sacrifice flies, to go along with an on base percentage of .369, and slugging percentage of .500.

While with the Mets, Beltran was the franchise leader in stolen base percentage (86.21%). He stole 100 stolen bases in 116 attempts. Beltran also set the Mets single season record for most runs scored in a single season (127 in 2006).

Now Beltran will be the ninth player to have his Mets number retired. The question will remain should he be positively recognized after his actions with the Astros?