Carlos Beltran Named New York Mets Manager
The New York Mets have become the sixth team of the eight teams with openings at the helm to fill the void. The team decided on Friday that they would hire former big leaguer Carlos Beltran as their 22nd manager. Beltran, 42, replaces Mickey Callaway on a team looking for renewed leadership. Sid Rosenberg was first to report the deal via Twitter.
The Controversy
Unfortunately for baseball fans, we may not get to see the interesting story that would be Beltran pulling Zack Wheeler out of a game. Beltran was traded for Zack Wheeler way back in 2011. Mets fans may remember a spat between Beltran and management back then. He underwent surgery in January of 2010 on his knee that had not been approved by the team. The team did not want to go for surgery quite yet, causing a rift between Beltran and the front office.
Trends Continue
Beltran will take the helm for the first time after recently retiring from baseball in 2017 after winning the World Series with the Houston Astros. He played for the Mets from 2005 through 2011. Hiring recently retired players as managers have become a trend, as Alex Cora of the Boston Red Sox and David Ross of the Chicago Cubs represent two players who took a few years off and ended up back in the dugout.
Carlos Beltran spent his prime years with the New York Mets and saw quite a bit of success. He saw time in both right field and center field during his stay with the team. He hit .280/.500/.869 with the Mets and swatted 149 home runs, the most for any stop of his career.
Beltran takes over at a time where expectations are high for the Mets. The team surged in the second half and made a late Wild Card push. With a few key additions and a full year of Marcus Stroman joining Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom in the rotation, the Mets could contend in a competitive NL East.
