Beltran “Hurt” by Mets Organization
Carlos Beltran made some candid remarks about the Mets organization following Friday’s press conference introducing him as the newest Yankee.
According to ESPN.com, Beltran recalled moments when he felt unfairly treated by the Mets’ front office:
“All the controversy about the Walter Reed,” Beltran said. “The knee — the organization trying to put me as a player that I was a ‘bad apple.’ I was this. I was that. I can deal with 0-for-4 and three strikeouts and talk to you guys. But when someone is trying to hurt you in a very personal way, trying to put things out there, that I know me. Then we got trouble. Now, it’s personal. When they say all that about myself, I was hurt. You cannot believe the organization that signed you for seven years is trying to put you down. In that aspect, I felt hurt.”
There’s nothing unfair about what Beltran had to say.
Beltran was arguably the Mets’ best all-around player from 2006-2009, before knee injuries slowed him down. It seemed Mets ownership (and some fans – although Beltran’s criticism seems primarily directed toward the front office) never appreciated him nonetheless. Fred Wilpon’s infamous interview with the New Yorker underscored this perception:
“We had some schmuck in New York who paid him based on that one series,” he said, referring to himself. In the course of playing out his seven-year, $119-million contract with the Mets, Beltran, too, has been hobbled by injuries. “He’s sixty-five to seventy per cent of what he was.”
Beltran and the front office disagreed on how to handle his knee injuries. In 2010, Beltran had arthroscopic surgery without the team’s blessing.
Beltran’s comments on Friday might take you aback at first, but they’re really no surprise. The Mets have a habit of bad-mouthing their players (most recently R.A. Dickey before his trade).
It’s another indictment of how the Wilpons have chosen to run their baseball team, and why that kind of culture has to change.
About the Author
Paul is a freelance writer, blogger, and broadcast technology professional residing in Denver. A New Jersey native, he is a long-suffering Mets fan, a recently-happy Giants fan, and bewildered Islanders fan. He's also a fair-weather Avalanche and Rockies supporter. In his spare time, he enjoys the three Gs: Golf, Guitars, and Games.
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Why do we Mets fans give our hearts to a team whose ownership is undeserving? I guess someone with a stronger background in psychology will have to come up with an answer.
It’s called addiction.
I was never a “fan” of front office management; I was a fan of Tom Seaver. But it was never a choice to change allegiances when M. Donald Grant traded Seaver, and it isn’t a choice now.
I’m 100% behind Beltran on this one.
Worst of all, he was a great signing and the owner looks back on it as some kind of mistake.
I have to think McCourt had already fallen out of the boys’ club and finances were forcing his hand before Selig made things official. I wouldn’t expect that to ever happen again. If the Wilpons ever sell the Mets, it’ll be because they want to.
It’s a shame the Mets organization is so amateurish in this respect. Even Sandy A has a tin ear to this stuff – e.g. his “hilarious” box of chocolates quip re Reyes’ departure.
Hard to get behind sometimes – but it could be worse. They could be owned by Dolan.
Just conjecturing.
1. Any Walter Reed beefs should have been handled internally. Criticizing your own players in the media is both classless and stupid.
2. Beltran just watched Ryan Church play through a concussion and Reyes play through a torn hamstring/calf, to both players’ extreme detriment. Ignoring the Mets’ wishes and getting his knee treated as best he saw fit might have been the best move he ever made for his career.
3. Saying you overpaid your players is a clear statement that they aren’t worth their salaries, no matter how much you claim to only be criticizing yourself. Apparently Fred Wilpon only believes that thinking before you speak is only for players (who get courses on media relations as mandated by the team).
4. As for the fans, in 2005 they got on Beltran for underachieving and for not looking like he was playing particularly hard. I would have liked to see him dive for a few balls he played on hops. Then, the first time he dives all-out, Mike Cameron is doing the same thing, not expecting Carlos to be there.
Coming back quickly from the collision won Carlos a little love, but sulking about the fan treatment in 2006 and initially refusing a curtain call did not.
For the next several years, I think Mets fans did appreciate Beltran, we just wished he could have come up with a big hit down the stretch in 2007 or 2008 when we just needed anyone to come through. So the appreciation never turned into a full-on love affair.
Then he got hurt, which was a disappointment to everyone, and his enfeebled return speeded the 2010 team’s fall from contention (inevitable in hindsight, but not at the time, to many fans).
In the end, I don’t think Mets fans treated Beltran unfairly. We just proved we care more about team wins than player WAR.
5. Beltran has never been able to hit a good curve. It would have been nice to see him rise to the occasion and at least foul off a pitch that had that much plate. But expecting him to develop a new skill on the spot isn’t realistic. Probably better to just hope the ump gets fooled by the huge break and calls it a ball. Now, the two preceding pitches are a different story…
Does anyone remember the first pitch of that AB? Change-up down the middle and down. Carlos crushes that pitch if he’s looking for it, but what reliever throws a first-pitch change-up in that situation? When people talk about Molina’s expert game-calling, this is what I think of.
The fans always *wanted* to cheer Beltran; he just had a mediocre year in ’05. So, once he sulked and refused the curtain call at first, it seemed ungrateful and spiteful.
In the end, he’s a great player – definitely sensitive – but I would’ve liked to see him back. He’s probably still a better player at this stage than Granderson, although he doesn’t have the sunny disposition. Course, sunny dispositions don’t win ballgames…