Beltran Booing Reeks of Dumb
Carlos Beltran is a good player, and he was a good player with the Giants, too. So why is everyone booing him?
At the trade deadline in 2011, Brian Sabean and the Giants knew their offense was in trouble. Buster Posey was out, and they needed a legitimate force in the lineup to try and get them back to the postseason where as we know, anything can happen. As the non-waiver trade deadline approached, the Giants traded top prospect Zack Wheeler to the Mets for switch-hitting OF Carlos Beltran. As you know, the Giants didn’t make the postseason in 2011, and Carlos Beltran was not re-signed by the Giants, but by the St. Louis Cardinals for a two-year, $26MM contract.
Fast forward to yesterday and Carlos Beltran gets announced and the boo-birds come out. Here are the reasons why I believe they came out:
1) Belief that since Carlos Beltran did not take the Giants to the postseason, he did not help the team.
It’s a very convenient narrative, and one that also possibly drives the AL MVP vote. One baseball player cannot do everything to get his team to a postseason. However, I have big problem with the idea that Carlos Beltran didn’t contribute:
Beltran was discussed yesterday ad nauseam, so I feel like this article is a dead horse and my writing is the beating. I don’t see how those stats suggest Beltran didn’t do anything. Oh, and of his 7 HR, 5 were at home, so don’t suggest he didn’t four-bag it at AT&T.
2) Carlos Beltran didn’t sign with the Giants, therefore he hates the Giants.
Beltran, and I believe SF beat-writer Henry Schulman, have said that the Giants never called Beltran or his people to discuss a deal. Baseball is a business, and I have no problem with Beltran’s people not calling the Giants since that could be used as leverage against them in a deal. Beltran got a good deal with the Cardinals, and the Giants with their self-induced salary cap wouldn’t have been able to offer that.
Beltran also cannot give you back Zack Wheeler, so move on from that.
3) He’s one of the Cardinals best players and we boo the best players.
Well, at least that one’s consistent when all the other teams come in.
The Giants were one up on the Diamondbacks at the beginning of August in 2011, but it’d be foolish to say that “selfish Beltran didn’t contribute and that’s why the Giants finished 8 back.” If you really believe Beltran was bad, I don’t know what to tell you, and if you were pro-Mike Trout for AL MVP and anti-Carlos Beltran then you really have me confused, yet convinced you’re living through your own convenient lens. A baseball deal was made, it didn’t work out for the Giants. Not everything is 2010 November parades.
