Over the winter, the New York Mets had appointed Carlos Beltran, a former player of the organization, to be their manager. However, he was named on MLB’s report on the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal in 2017. He was a participant in the scheme, and as a result, the Mets and the former star center fielder decided to part ways.
A few days later, the Mets named quality control coach Luis Rojas as their skipper in a multi-year contract. However, fans, management and the front office will always wonder what could have been if Beltran was the man in charge.
New York Mets’ legend David Wright appreciates everything that Beltran did for him and for the team, but in the end, he agreed that it was best for all parties involved if he didn’t manage the club.
“There’s choices, decisions, consequences,” Wright said on the Metrospective Podcast with Pete McCarthy and Tim Britton, quoted by SNY. “You have choices, you make the decisions. If you choose wrongly, you suffer the consequences.”
“As great as Carlos was to me as a younger player — our first spring training, he made me work out with him every day. And it was eye-opening for me. … You break the rules and you get caught, you’ve gotta suffer the consequences. Unfortunately, that’s where Carlos is now. And that’s no, obviously, disrespect to Carlos. It is what it is and he broke the rules, and he’s taking it as well as he could’ve. He’s apologized and hopefully everybody moves on.”
It had nothing to do with the Mets, but…
What Beltran did had nothing to do with the New York Mets, as he did it in 2017 with another organization. However, had all parties decided to move forward with the hiring, it would have been too much to handle from a pressure standpoint.
“It obviously would’ve been a dark cloud,” Wright said. “The questions that he would’ve had to answer probably on a daily basis, the questions that the players would’ve had to answer on a daily basis. It would’ve all been centered around this scandal that the Mets had nothing to do with. And that’s a tough way to start out a career.”
“Do I think he would’ve made a great manager? Yes. Do I think he’s one of the smartest baseball people I’ve ever been around? Yes. It’s just tough having those outside circumstances kind of follow you around for your first year.”
Wright does recognize Beltran’s contributions to his development as a player. “I certainly don’t want to speak negatively of Carlos, because again I’m very thankful how he treated me,” Wright stated. “And for the production, I think he’s one of the most underrated Mets players of all time. His numbers are ridiculously stupid. I don’t think he gets credit for doing what he did for our organization.”