Carlos Beltrán walked into the Hall of Fame on Tuesday and looked like he walked right out of an MLB clubhouse.
A year ago, Beltrán was playing for the eventual World Champion Houston Astros – and the nine-time All-Star appears as if he could still stand in against big league pitching. But the broad shoulders and bulging forearms were just a remnant of his past life.
Carlos Beltrán is a fan these days. And as a fan of the game, he wanted to come to Cooperstown.
Beltrán and his family toured the Hall of Fame and soaked in the history, something the five-tool outfielder was unable to do during first and only other trip to Cooperstown in 1999. That year, Beltrán’s Kansas City Royals played in the Hall of Fame Game against the Texas Rangers. En route to winning the 1999 American League Rookie of the Year, Beltrán did not play in the Hall of Fame Game.
“That was my first time in Cooperstown, and we didn’t get to see much,” Beltrán said. “But I love history. I think history is something that we should encourage kids to understand. As a ballplayer, I always tried to introduce myself to the older players, because it was the guys who came before us that gave us all the benefits we got.
“That’s why I wanted to come to Cooperstown: To get to see more of the history of baseball.”
Beltrán authored some of that history himself. One of the game’s most complete players during his 20 years in the big leagues with the Royals, Astros, Mets, Giants, Cardinals, Yankees and Rangers, Beltrán posted seven seasons with at least 100 runs scored, eight seasons with at least 100 RBI and 12 seasons with 20-or-more home runs. A three-time Gold Glove Award winner in center field, Beltrán also stole 312 bases while being caught only 49 times – an astounding 86.4 percent success rate that ranks among the best all-time.
Beltrán saved some of his best performances for the postseason when he hit .307 with 16 home runs and 42 RBI in 65 games. He twice hit four home runs in a single postseason series.