Kansas City Royals: Carlos Beltran is bound for Hall of Fame
By Joel Wagler
Former Kansas City Royals star Carlos Beltran announced his retirement on Monday. He was some ballplayer!
Did you know that since Carlos Beltran debuted with the Kansas City Royals in 1998, only six players recorded a higher Wins Above Replacement than Beltran’s 67.2? There are no flukes on this list, which includes Alex Rodrguez, Albert Pujols, Adrian Beltre, Barry Bonds, Chipper Jones, and Miguel Cabrera, according to Fangraphs.
Beltran is the second greatest player, behind George Brett, ever developed by the Royals organization. That’s no hype. The Royals have nurtured some pretty good players over the years, including Frank White, Bret Saberhagen, David Cone, and Zack Greinke.
Though a case could be made for White, none of these players are in the Hall of Fame. Of course, Greinke could still make his case.
Beltran will be in Cooperstown someday, deservedly so. According to Baseball Reference, here is where he ranks on some of the all-time baseball lists.
- 69th – Wins Above Replacement – 69.2 (B-R differs slightly than Fangraphs)
- 44th – Games Played – 2,586
- 37th – At Bats – 9,768
- 53rd – Runs Scored – 1,582
- 41st – Runs Batted In – 1,587
- 61st – Hits – 2,725
- 33rd – Total Bases – 4,751
- 27th – Doubles – 565
- 46th – Home Runs – 435
- 3rd – Stolen Base Percentage – 86.43
These are just some of the statistical highlights of Beltran’s career. According to MLB, he’s also just one of four switch hitters to produce 1,500 RBI – Mickey Mantle, Eddie Murray, and Chipper Jones. He’s one of just five switch hitters with more than 400 Home Runs, and only Five players have over 2,500 hits, 500 doubles, 400 homers, and 300 stolen bases.
In the postseason, Beltran was simply one of the best all time. In 65 postseason games, he recorded an incredible slash – .307/.412/.609/.1.021. He hit 16 home runs, drove in 42 runs, scored 45, and was 11 for 11 in stolen base attempts.
Must Read: Royals All-Time Leaders in Home Runs
If a player is ranked that high historically in so many major statistical categories and produced the numbers he did in the playoffs and World Series, there will be a place for him in the Hall of Fame
In 1999 and 2000, Beltran was part of an incredible Royals’ offense which included Mike Sweeney, Johnny Damon, and Jermaine Dye. Despite those players, the Royals only won 141 games in those years due to a horrific pitching staff (5.42 ERA).
In 2003, Beltran was a key component to the Royals reaching .500 for the first time in a decade. He recorded a slash of .307/.389/.522./911, hit 26 home runs, scored 102 runs and knocked in 100 while stealing 42 bases.
Kansas City Royals
Before the 2003 season, the Royals decided they could only sign one player to a long-term contract. They signed All-Star Mike Sweeney to a five-year contract worth $55 million, and couldn’t work out a deal with Beltran.
When the 2004 season went into the tank early, the Royals began shopping Beltran, eventually shipping him to the Astros in a three-way deal with Oakland that netted them Mark Teahen and John Buck.
The rest is history. Beltran led the Astros into the World Series, then became a star for the Mets and several other teams.
The Royals spiraled into a purgatorial oblivion, never winning more than 75 games for another decade.
A great what if in Royals history will always be what if the franchise had not been so Scrooge-like in the late 90’s and early 2000’s? What if they had locked up Dye, Damon, and Beltran when they were young and built around them longterm? The history of this franchise would be much different.
Beltran was incredible to watch. You could see how good he was and how good he could be. In the outfield, he was fluid and made everything look so easy. He was fast, had great instincts, and had a gun for an arm. In the 2002 and 2003, the first years with data for Ultimate Zone Rating, Beltran recorded a UZR of 16.3. While injuries eventually slowed him down late in his career, he was an excellent defender through 2008.
In his illustrious career, he won the American League Rookie of the Year in 1999, was part of nine All-Star teams, and earned three Gold Gloves.
Royals fans should celebrate the career of Carlos Beltran, even though he spent parts of just seven season in Kansas City. The Royals developed him, and he is an important part of the team’s history.
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During some of the years when the Royals weren’t very good, Beltran was a shining beacon. When he was traded, the franchise plummetted to the depths of their worst stretch in team history. Luckily, Royals fans got to watch him play every day in those early years, appreciate the fact he is without a doubt, a baseball Hall of Fame player.