A few weeks ago, Carlos Beltran won his first career World Series with the Houston Astros. As it turns out, that will be his last, too.
That's because Beltran announced his retirement on Monday with a heartfelt letter on The Players' Tribune:
I had always dreamed about winning a championship, and I chased every opportunity to do so in my career. But I never thought that I needed to win a World Series to make my career complete. Like I said before, I realized early on that my purpose in this game was to share knowledge with younger players and to give back to the game of baseball. I always wanted to do that — that, and be the best teammate I could possibly be. Over 20 years, I feel like I accomplished that. So whether we won or lost Game 7, I would have still been happy with my career.
But it still feels nice to have a ring …
Beltran appeared in parts of 20 big-league seasons, over which he made nine all-star teams and won three Gold Glove Awards and two Silver Slugger Awards. He also won the 1999 Rookie of the Year Award. Beltran hit .279/.350/.486 (119 OPS+) for his career, and became the fifth player in history to homer more than 400 times and steal more than 300 bags, joining Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Willie Mays, and Andre Dawson. (It's worth noting that Mays and Dawson are in the Hall of Fame, and that Bonds and Rodriguez should get in some day.)
Though Beltran finished short of various magical marks (he had 2,725 hits and 435 home runs), he still appears to have a legitimate case for enshrinement based on advanced metrics. His 69.8 Wins Above Replacement puts him in line with the average center fielder already in the Hall (71.2). Ditto for his peak -- Beltran's best seven-year stretch saw him accumulate 44.3 WAR, whereas the average Hall of Fame center fielder checked in with 44.6.
Whether or not Beltran makes the Hall, he'll be well remembered throughout the land -- in part because he suited up for so many teams. Officially, he appeared in seven seasons with both the Kansas City Royals and New York Mets. Additionally, he played for the New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, Texas Rangers, San Francisco Giants, and Astros -- the latter of whom he obviously finished his career with.
