Praise him like you should. Yeah, that was a Fatboy Slim reference.
He didn't let this moment define him.
For Mets fans, this is the most traumatizing moment in the past decade. We all know the story: rookie Adam Wainwright introduced his disgusting, knee-buckling curveball to the world and Carlos Beltran left his bat on his shoulder. Beltran looked at strike three, leaving the bases loaded and the Mets lose game 7. The Cardinals went on to win the World Series. This is the lasting memory of Beltran's days in New York, and that's bullshit. Beltran is one of the top 10 players in Mets history. In 2006, he hit 41 home runs and had 116 runs batted in, and against the Cardinals in the NLCS, he hit .296 with 3 home runs. The Mets would not have been in the NLCS without Carlos Beltran — we need to stop crucifying him for not swinging at a disgusting backdoor curveball.
Look at the statistics.
Is your mind blown? Because it should be. Considering Beltran has only been in the playoffs four times in his 16-year career, he has made quite the impact. Once the playoffs roll around the dude straight up rakes.
Now look at the hypothetical statistics!
Um, 68 home runs?! Are you freaking kidding me? Hashtag whoa.
His swing is so pretty and effortless it's almost forgettable.
Beltran has always been a victim of making the game look too easy. On the field, it never looked like he was hustling because he glided around the outfield like a gazelle. At the plate, he makes it look just as easy. He generates so much power and wastes very little motion from a perfectly simple swing. It looks as though he's not trying and yet he has the highest slugging percentage in postseason history.
