Carlos Beltran told Mike Puma of the NY Post that he wouldn’t be against a return to the Mets when he becomes a free agent this offseason.
“Maybe I’ll see you, maybe I won’t,” Beltran said laughing when asked about a return to the Mets. “I’m going to listen to everybody and we’ll see what happens.”
According to sources, Beltran spoke with Mets COO Jeff Wilpon at the All-Star Game in July, and the two sides may have patched up old wounds. Beltran did acknowledge on Saturday that he spoke with Wilpon, but declined to specify what was discussed.
The Mets will have some level of interest in the 36-year-old Beltran, according to what a source told Puma, but they do have concerns about his diminished range in right field.
Beltran batted .296 with an .836 OPS for the Cardinals this season. In 600 plate appearances he racked up 30 doubles, 24 homers and 84 RBIs.
Original Post 10/3
St. Louis outfielder Carlos Beltran led the assault as the Cardinals pounded the Pittsburgh Pirates 9-1 in Game 1 of the NLDS on Thursday.
Before a sellout crowd of 45,693 delirious Cardinal fans, Beltran blasted a three-run bomb off Pirates starter A.J. Burnett that rocketed its way into the second deck of Busch Stadium. The 443-foot blast was the second-longest ever hit in the ballpark by a left-handed batter.
When Beltran came out of the dugout for a curtain call, the stadium let out a thunderous roar of approval. It was the latest chapter in Beltran’s historic post-season career and with tonight’s homer he equaled Babe Ruth with 15 playoff home runs.
An All-Star for the eighth time this year, Beltran is the all-time postseason leader in slugging (.782) and OPS (1.252), while ranking sixth all-time and first among actives in on-base percentage (.470).
Perhaps Matt Snyder of CBS Sports presents the strongest case for why Beltran has put together a convincing Hall of Fame resumé…
He has the highest career postseason slugging percentage and OPS (1.238) in baseball history. According to Elias Sports Bureau, Beltran has the second highest home run rate in postseason play (15 homers in 129 at-bats — so one home run for every 8.6 at-bats), trailing only Babe Ruth. Ever heard of him? In terms of postseason play, an argument could be made Beltran is the best postseason hitter of all-time.
We’re talking about a guy with over 350 homers and 300 stolen bases. Here are the only players in baseball history to have done that: Barry Bonds, Willie Mays, Alex Rodriguez, Andre Dawson and Beltran.
The eight-time All-Star Beltran carries a career triple-slash line of .283/.359/.496, good enough for a 122 OPS+ (22 percent better than the league average throughout his entire career). His 67.5 WAR (baseball-reference.com version) puts him 83rd among position players in history. That might not sound impressive, but we need to think about just how many thousands upon thousands of position players have even taken the field. He also has 446 doubles, getting him close to the top 100 ever (104th right now).
Also, take note of the players who accumulated less WAR over their respective careers: Roberto Alomar, Duke Snider, Pee Wee Reese, Craig Biggio, Andre Dawson, Willie McCovey, Dave Winfield, Billy Williams, Richie Ashburn, Mark McGwire, Harmon Killebrew, Yogi Berra and, well, you get the idea.
