26
2012
Carlos Beltran Receives Bart Giamatti Award At MLB B.A.T. Dinner
An article by 
Sadly, Carlos Beltran’s Mets legacy will forever be defined by what he didn’t do: take the bat off his shoulder against Adam Wainwright during Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS.
However, Beltran meant so much to the Mets organization over the past seven years for his work on and off the field.
He was honored at MLB’s annual B.A.T. dinner as the recipient of the Bart Giamatti Award for outstanding community service.
Carlos Beltran
Beltran’s organization, the Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy, has been serving young Puerto Rican baseball players as they attempt to play in the United States. Beltran came over as an 18-year-old and barely spoke English, so his goal is to ensure, through a combination of education and sports, that the kids are prepared for what they’ll face.
Each year, Beltran donates 10 percent of his salary towards his foundation. He said he’s been able to help a lot of kids in both Puerto Rico and New York.
“I believe in giving back,” Beltran said. “I believe in giving back to the community. I believe in giving back to the kids.”
Beltran acknowledged that the number of Puerto Rican baseball players had actually been on the decline. He hopes he can play a role in increasing that amount once more.
As for his Mets baseball past, Beltran said his time in New York was “honestly great.” He believed that he did his best to help the team during the years he was healthy.
He did say that there were some ups and downs along the way but that he had no regrets.
“I’ve had my best years of baseball with the Mets,” said Beltran. “Of course, the years that you are healthy, you can perform at the level that you expect yourself to perform.”
Beltran further commented that it takes a special athlete to perform in New York. He said he learned how to deal with certain situations and thus became a better player.
“When you come to New York, you have to understand that everything is going to be magnified,” he said. “The media coverage is going to be bigger than any place else. Coming from Kansas City and then coming from Houston, New York was a big difference for me.”
Beltran’s favorite Mets memory was the team’s run in 2006, though it didn’t end according to plan. He cherished the opportunity to play with Carlos Delgado, David Wright, Jose Reyes, Paul LoDuca and Billy Wagner.
As he enters his 15th season in the big leagues, Beltran is excited to play for the St. Louis Cardinals. He was looking for the chance to get back to the playoffs in these final years of his career, and the Cardinals recent World Series win factored into his decision.
Overlooking some of the off-the-field issues, it was honor watching Beltran play for the Mets. As true Mets fans, we should be saluting Beltran and wishing him well as he continues his career with the Cardinals.
Of course (like I told him), hopefully he doesn’t hit against us!
About the Author: Jim Mancari
Jim Mancari hails from Massapequa, N.Y. He recently earned a Master's degree in Journalism at Hofstra University. He is a devout Mets fan and takes pride in his team, despite their lack of success over the last few years. Like all Mets fans, Jim has plenty of hope. He also writes as the sports reporter for the Brooklyn Tablet newspaper and the senior editor of metroBASEBALL Magazine. Click my name to view my personal website.
8 Comments + Add Comment
Recent Comments
- Seth: on Gee Roughed Up As Braves Shutout The Mets 6-0: Collins' country club has led players to...
- Russell's Mets: on Gee Roughed Up As Braves Shutout The Mets 6-0: I disagree I believe Omar left enough...
- Franklin: on Gee Roughed Up As Braves Shutout The Mets 6-0: So the GM made players regress from...
- Michelle: on Gee Roughed Up As Braves Shutout The Mets 6-0: Omar inherited Wright and Reyes under contract...
- BadBadLeroyBrown: on Gee Roughed Up As Braves Shutout The Mets 6-0: Niese, Ike Davis, Lucas Duda, Ruben Tejada...
Need Tickets To The Mets Game?
Check Out These Great MLB Links!
Photographs From Gordon Donovan
5396 Fans Follow Us On Twitter!
1269 Fans Like Us On Facebook!
2341 Fans Read Our Feed!
1702 Fans Subscribe via Daily Email!
Awesome job, Jim, you really rocked it with your coverage of the BAT Dinner.
I’ve been very shocked at the reaction by many fans over Beltran saying Mets fans need to get over that Wainwright strikeout.
Mets fans really do need to move on from this Beltran comment, and the ones that blamed Beltran for losing the 2006 NLCS need to have their heads examined.
Beltran had a team leading 1.054 OPS in the NLCS higher than any Met and higher than Albert Pujols. He had 3 home runs in the series and no Met or Cardinal had more.
His home run in game one was the game winner, as were the two home runs he belted in game four. Without Beltran there would be no game six or game seven.
He was a one man wrecking crew during that MVP like season in 2006 when he hit a club record 41 home runs and drove in 116 RBI while scoring 127 runs, stealing 18 bases and winning the gold glove and silver slugger. It was easily one of the greatest single season performances the Mets have ever had.
Whenever I see Mets fans lamenting that game seven strikeout, two things come to mind.
1. Wow, this is about as ignorant a Mets fan as I have ever known.
2. I hope to god other team’s fans don’t assume all Mets fans are like this one.
Sorry if that sounds harsh, but basically if you’e going to blame the one player who got us into the post season and then led us to within a couple of outs of the World Series, then obviously you need to brush up un what baseball is all about.
It was an impossible pitch with the bases loaded and 2 outs. Gutsy pitch by Wainwright or gutsy pitch calling by Molina.
I think the AB by Valentin was more of a bust.
The Valentin AB was a killer. could have broken the game open right there.
with the Beltran AB, overlooked is that he took 2 FBs that he should have been able to hit before that pitch. If he went up agressive quite possibly never gets to the hook.
I have always said that Valentin’s AB was the most important of that game. Let’s not forget Willie batting an injured Floyd when runners in scoring position.
Well said.
In that one game 7 we had the lead, the BP blew the lead.
Heck, if not for Endy Ollie would have walked away with that loss in all probability.
I’ll always miss you CB!
Great job Jim!
Excellent article. Carlos has always been a true professional and a credit to the game. He has earned his place in Mets heritage and I wish him the best for the rest of his career and the rest of his life following his eventual retirement.
Merchant Relief Services can provide necessary merchant services to you. Offering the folling merchant services at competitive rates that can save you money. Bank Card Consulting, Merchant Cash Advance, Direct Leads, Charge Back Management Services, High Risk Merchant Services, Rate Reduction Analysis, Ach Check Services, Fraud Pervention, SSL Certificates Services and more.