Carlos Beltran proud to officially join Hall of Fame as a forever Met: Shaped my life
COOPERSTOWN — The Mets spent the most money in franchise history, joining the Dodgers to invite the kind of scrutiny that has owners pushing for a salary cap, to field what is currently the third-worst team in baseball and destined for a sell-off.Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Mike Puma about the inside buzz on the Mets.
A well-liked manager has been fired.Popular stars from past seasons are gone, in some cases leaving without offers from the Mets to retain them.
New additions have, almost universally, disappointed.The club’s owner has acknowledged there has been “regression” within the farm system.In nearly every way, it is difficult to be affiliated with the Mets these days.
Into this moment stepped Carlos Beltrán, who did not have to choose the Mets on his Hall of Fame plaque but did, and who did not have to express such pride in the organization but did.“To Steve and Alex Cohen, I know this year might not look pretty,” the newly inducted Hall of Famer said during his speech on an idyllic and sunny afternoon here, “but what makes me proud is the culture that you have been able to create: making players, families, and employee values [important].“And especially myself — having experience in different chapters in the Mets organization, I have to tell you guys that I have never been prouder to call myself a Met.”Beltrán is officially called a Hall of Famer, the star of stars at a ceremony that also enshrined Andruw Jones and Jeff Kent.Of the estimated 12,000 in attendance, the largest contingent probably was not Mets fans or Braves fans or Giants fans but Puerto Ricans, who were loud with a call-and-answer “Puerto Rico” cheer as he stepped to the microphone.“We’re proud, man, we’re proud people,” the sixth Puerto Rican elected later said.With 57 Hall of Famers sitting on the stage behind him, Beltrán used 17 minutes Sunday to tour through his life and career, thank a...