WTH is that.
[h1]Five things you may not know[/h1]
22 May 2009 Baseball
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Well, as you might imagine, I'm getting crushed by emails and voice mails and Facebook mails and all kinds of other mails regarding Steve Phillips' bashing of Carlos Beltran. Most people just wanted to contact me to say that they think ESPN's Steve Phillips is an idiot … it seems to me a lot like the scene in Airplane where people line up to slap the hysterical woman.
There are also some who think I'm an idiot and Phillips is absolutely right … Beltran is an underachiever, he's a malingerer, he dropped that pop-up the other day, he struck out against Adam Wainwright, he has never lived up to his potential, he has never lived up to his contract, he doesn't smile enough, he'd doesn't like baseball, he doesn't fit in New York, he doesn't care and so on and so on and so on.
Well, I have a feeling that this is a topic I will have a lot more to say about in the coming weeks. But for now … well, if you read this site, you know where I stand on Beltran.
So, for your enjoyment, here are five things you may not know:
1. The New York Mets single-season record holder for home runs is not Mike Piazza, Darryl Strawberry, Howard Johnson or Dave Kingman.
It is Carlos Beltran. He hit 41 home runs in 2006*.
*He tied the record: Todd Hundley also hit 41 home runs for the Mets.
2. Only one switch-hitter in baseball history has had multiple seasons of 80 or more extra base hits. It is not Mickey Mantle, Pete Rose, Eddie Murray or Chipper Jones. It is not Jimmy Rollins, Mark Teixeira, Lance Berkman or Reggie Smith. It is not Bernie Williams, Chili Davis, Roberto Alomar or Ripper Collins.
It is Carlos Beltran. He's done it three times.
3. Only one player in baseball history has stolen 200 or more bases and been successful more than 85% of the time. It is not Tim Raines or Rickey Henderson, not Davey Lopes, Eric Davis or Joe Morgan, not Carl Crawford or Willie Wilson or Ichiro or Vince Coleman.
It is Carlos Beltran. He has stolen 281 bases and been caught 38 times, a preposterous 88% success rate.
4. There is only one center fielder in baseball history who has hit more than 40 home runs in a season and has also stolen more than 40 bases in a season. That's in a career, I'm not talking about one 40-40 season. Hmm. It's not Willie Mays. It's not Mickey Mantle. It's not Ken Griffey or Joe DiMaggio or Grady Sizemore or Duke Snider. It's not Andruw Jones or Fred Lynn or Bernie Williams or Curtis Granderson or Amos Otis or …
Yeah. It is Carlos Beltran. He hit 41 homers for the Mets, and he stole more than 40 bases in back-to-back years, 2003 and 2004.
5. There are two center fielders in baseball history, two, who have had more than six seasons of BOTH scoring 100 runs and driving in 100 runs. They were both excellent defensive center fielders - multiple Gold Glove winners. They were both extremely fast base runners - especially in their younger years. They both spent a good portion of their careers as center fielders in New York.
The first one, Willie Mays, played the game with an outward joy. He smiled. He said "Say Hey!" He played stickball in the street. When he ran in the outfield, his hat often fell off. He had one of the greatest catches in World Series history. He pulled off the 100 run/100 RBI thing nine times. He is viewed by many as the greatest player in baseball history.
The second one, Carlos Beltran, plays the game with a stoic restlessness, he does not often seem to be having fun out there. His hat does not fall off when he runs … he's so graceful he hardly appears to be running at all. He had one of the greatest playoff runs in baseball history - in 12 playoff games in 2004 he hit .434 with 8 homers, six stolen bases, nine walks, 14 RBIs and 21 runs - and people still say he fails in the clutch. He has pulled off the 100 run/100 RBI thing seven times, and if he stays healthy he'll probably do it again. He is viewed by many as overrated and an underachiever.
Yea but there is no such thing as protection
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