Carlos Ivan Beltrán made his Major League debut on September 14, 1998 with the Kansas City Royals against Oakland . He was selected by the Royals 2nd round pick in the 1995 June Free Agent Draft and was immediately sent to play in the Gulf Coast League where he batted .278 with 23 RBI in 52 games. The following season he was selected by Baseball America as the 9th-best prospect in the GCL. He began the 1996 season with Lansing in the Midwest League, but was afterwards sent to Spokane in the Northwest League where he earned 7 homers in 59 games for the Indians. The following season, Baseball America named him the 2nd-best prospect in the Royals organization and the 8th-best prospect in the Northwest League. Before making his Major League debut in 1998, the Baseball America named him the best defensive outfielder in the Carolina League. Beltrán in his first major league season played 14 games with the Kansas City Royals. The following season he played as the Royals' starting center fielder and leadoff hitter and earned the Jackie Robinson Award as the American League Rookie of the Year after hitting at a .293 clip with 112 runs scored, 22 home runs and 108 RBI. In 2000, Beltran's scores slumped due to injuries. He lost his center field job to Johnny Damon. It was only after Damon was traded to Athletics, Beltran resumed his center field job. In 2001, he led the club with a .306 average, 106 runs, 101 RBI and 31 stolen bases and was named the Royals Player of the Year. He became the youngest player to win the award since George Brett in 1975 and 1976. In 2002-2003 season he led the Royals in nearly every offensive category. He registered team highs in at bats (637), runs (114), hits (174), doubles (44), triples (7), home runs (29), RBI (105), walks (71) and stolen bases (35), and career highs in runs, doubles, home runs, walks and stolen bases. In 2003, he became the 1st Royal and the 23rd player in Major League history to record a 20 home run/40 stolen base season. Even though he missed the club's first 14 games, he led the Royals in nearly every offensive category. Since Kansas City is a small-market team, Royals general manager Allard Baird expressed his intention to dismantle the team and rebuild it for the 2005 season. By that time Beltran had already become a high-profile player and was already eligible for free agency. It was pretty obvious for other teams to show interest in him. On June 24, 2004 , Beltrán was acquired by the Houston Astros in a three-team deal from the Oakland Athletics. He was selected to the starting outfield for the 2004 All-Star Game after starter Ken Griffey, Jr. went on the disabled list just before the All-Star break. In the post-season, he tied a post-season record with eight home runs and set a major league post-season record with a home run in five consecutive games. He also set a major league mark with 21 runs scored in one post-season and had an extra-base hit in seven straight playoff games. Following the 2004 season he signed a 7 year - $119 million contract with the New York Mets, recording the biggest contract in Mets history. Carlos Beltran, is a flawless player having never been thrown out in 208 opportunities. |
