Carlos Beltran

Carlos Iván Beltrán (born April 24, 1977) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball outfielder.

He graduated from Fernando Callejo High School in 1995.

The Kansas City Royals selected Beltrán in the second round of the 1995 Major League Baseball draft.

After he signed, the Royals assigned him to the Gulf Coast Royals of the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League.

Originally only hitting right-handed, he batted .276 with no home runs.

During the off-season, Beltrán taught himself to hit left-handed, with advice from New York Yankees outfielder Bernie Williams and Royals minor league coach Kevin Long.

In 1996, he played for the Spokane Indians of the Class A-Short Season Northwest League, and the Lansing Lugnuts of the Class A Midwest League.

In 1997 he spent the entire season playing for the Wilmington Blue Rocks of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League.

He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder from 1998 to 2017 for the Kansas City Royals, Houston Astros, New York Mets, San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Yankees, and Texas Rangers.

A right-handed thrower and switch hitter, Beltrán stands 6 ft tall and weighs 215 lb.

He began the 1998 season with Wilmington and received a promotion to the Wichita Wranglers of the Class AA Texas League.

Beltrán made his major league debut on September 14, 1998, playing 15 games.

Unlike many players, he never played in Triple-A.

In 14 games of the 1998 baseball year, Beltrán got 16 hits, 5 doubles, 3 triples, and 7 RBIs with a .276 batting average during his time in the majors.

Beltrán was the American League (AL) Rookie of the Year in 1999 while with the Royals.

He was named to nine MLB All-Star Games and won three Gold Glove Awards and two Silver Slugger Awards.

Beltrán was the fifth player to reach both 400 home runs and 300 stolen bases and just the fourth switch hitter with 400 home runs.

He has the highest success rate in stealing bases (88.3%) of any major league player with 300 or more career attempts.

By 1999, he won the job as the Royals' starting center fielder and leadoff hitter.

He displayed significant power by midsummer and was moved to the #3 slot in the batting order.

Beltrán won the American League Rookie of the Year award, batting .293 with 22 home runs, 108 runs batted in (RBIs) and 27 stolen bases in 156 games played.

On September 27, 1999, Beltrán made the final out at Tiger Stadium, striking out against relief pitcher Todd Jones as the Detroit Tigers beat the Royals 8–2.

Injuries restricted Beltrán to 98 games during the 2000 season and he slumped to .247, losing his center field position to the popular Johnny Damon.

After Damon was traded to the Oakland Athletics following the season, Beltrán regained his job in 2001 and recaptured his rookie form.

He batted .306 with 24 home runs and 101 RBIs in that season, followed by lines of .273-29-105 in 2002 and .307-26-100 in 2003.

In 2003, Beltrán batted .194 in April.

Playing for a small market club and represented by agent Scott Boras, Beltrán endured trade rumors through the 2003 and 2004 seasons.

He also joined the 30–30 club in 2004.

In 56 plate appearances during the 2004 playoffs, he scored 21 runs to set a record for most runs scored in one postseason (Jose Altuve has since tied the record).

His luck changed in 2004, as Beltrán began the year with eight home runs and 19 RBIs and was selected as American League Player of the Month for April.

In the first 69 games of the 2004 season, Beltrán batted .278 with 15 homers, 51 RBI, and 14 stolen bases.

In 2013, Beltrán was named the recipient of the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award.

He retired after the 2017 season, winning a World Series title with the Houston Astros.

Beltrán was among the best all-time statistical hitters in postseason games, which has earned him nicknames such as "The New Mr. October", "Mr. October, Jr.", "Señor Octubre", and "the real Mr. October" from the media.

Beltrán was revealed as the alleged master in the Astros' illegal sign stealing scheme during their 2017 championship season.

The scandal broke in late 2019, after an investigation by league officials, the commissioner, and the media.

Beltrán, who had recently been hired as the Mets' manager, stepped down without managing a game.

In his youth, Beltrán excelled in many sports, with volleyball and baseball being his favorites.

At his father's urging, he gave up volleyball to concentrate on baseball when he was seventeen.

He was originally a shortstop before moving to the outfield.