Age: 22 (April 24)
Bats – Both,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’1” Weight: 215
Prior to 1999:
A native of
Puerto Rico, Beltran excelled at volleyball and baseball in school and was
chosen by the Royals in the 1995 amateur draft. He hit .278 in 52 Gulf Coast
League games in ’95 before moving up to Class A in 1996 where his average
dropped to .249 with two teams as the natural right-handed hitter learned to
switch-hit. Beltran hit .352 with Class AA Wichita in 1998 and earned a
late-season call-up to the Royals. In 14 games he batted .276 and in the spring
of 1999 won the starting job in center field.
1999 Season Summary
Appeared in 156
games
CF – 154, DH –
2, PR – 1
[Bracketed
numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate Appearances
– 723 [3]
At Bats – 663 [2]
Runs – 112 [12,
tied with Omar Vizquel]
Hits – 194 [7]
Doubles – 27
Triples – 7 [9,
tied with four others]
Home Runs – 22
RBI – 108 [18,
tied with Jim Thome & Mo Vaughn]
Bases on Balls
– 46
Int. BB – 2
Strikeouts – 123
[13]
Stolen Bases – 27
[12]
Caught Stealing
– 8 [17, tied with six others]
Average - .293
OBP - .337
Slugging Pct. -
.454
Total Bases – 301
[16]
GDP – 17 [14,
tied with Jermaine Dye, Rusty Greer & Ben Grieve]
Hit by Pitches
– 4
Sac Hits – 0
Sac Flies – 10
[3, tied with John Flaherty, Mike Bordick & Paul O’Neill]
Midseason
snapshot: HR - 12, RBI – 59, SB – 27, AVG - .302, OBP - .342
---
Most hits, game
– 4 on five occasions
Longest hitting
streak – 12 games
Most HR, game –
2 (in 4 AB) vs. Cincinnati 6/5
HR at home – 12
HR on road – 10
Multi-HR games
– 1
Most RBIs, game
– 3 on eleven occasions
Pinch-hitting –
No appearances
Fielding
Chances – 423
Put Outs – 395
Assists – 16
Errors – 12
DP – 2
Pct. – .972
Awards & Honors:
AL Rookie of
the Year: BBWAA
AL ROY Voting (Top
5):
Carlos Beltran,
KCR.: 133 pts. – 26 of 28 first place votes, 95% share
Freddy Garcia,
Sea.: 45 pts. –1 first place vote, 32% share
Jeff Zimmerman,
Tex.: 27 pts. – 19% share
Brian Daubach,
Bos.: 16 pts. – 1 first place vote, 11% share
Tim Hudson, Oak.:
13 pts. – 9% share
---
Royals went 64-97
to finish fourth in the AL Central Division, 32.5 games behind the
division-winning Cleveland Indians while leading the league in triples (52).
Aftermath of 1999:
Beltran missed
most of spring training in 2000 due to a wrist injury and lost his center field
job to Johnny Damon. He was shifted to left field and ended up hitting just
.247 with 7 home runs and 44 RBIs. With Damon traded to Oakland in 2001, Beltran
regained the starting spot in center field and batted .306 with 24 home runs
and 101 RBIs. His numbers remained similarly strong in 2002 and ’03. With the
club performing badly and looking to rebuild, Beltran became trade bait and he
was dealt to the Houston Astros during the 2004 season. He had a .267 average
with 38 home runs and 104 RBIs for the year, with 23 home runs, 53 RBIs and a
.258 average coming in 90 games with the Astros. Beltran excelled in the
postseason, hitting four home runs in the NLDS win over Atlanta and four more
in the seven-game NLCS loss to St. Louis. The eight home runs tied the record
for most in a single postseason and included a string of one in five
consecutive games. As a highly-sought free agent following his impressive 2004
showing, he signed a seven-year contract with the New York Mets for $119
million. Despite a slow start in 2005, Beltran was voted to the National League
starting lineup in the All-Star Game. A quadriceps injury hindered him further
and he ended up hitting just .266 with 16 home runs and 78 RBIs in 151 games.
The performance was better in 2006. Beltran tied the club record with 41 home
runs and knocked in 116 RBIs with a .275 batting average. The Mets won the NL
Eastern Division title and reached the NLCS before losing to the Cardinals in
seven games, with another strong postseason by Beltran marred by his striking
out for the final out in the seventh game. Beltran remained with the Mets until
he was traded to the San Francisco Giants during the 2011 season. He was
selected to three more All-Star Games during that time and won a total of three
Gold Gloves while with the Mets, who did not return to the postseason during
his tenure with the club after 2006. Knee surgery cost Beltran the first half
of the 2010 season and he was shifted to right field in 2011. He played a total
of 44 games with San Francisco, during which he hit 7 home runs and batted .323
with 18 RBIs. For 2012 he signed a two-year, $26 million deal with the St. Louis
Cardinals. In his two years with St. Louis Beltran hit 56 home runs and knocked
in 181 runs, with a .282 batting average. He was an All-Star each season and
the Cards reached the postseason both years as well. Beltran returned to New
York in 2014, this time with the Yankees, who offered him $45 million for three
years. He appeared in just 109 games in 2014, primarily due to bone spurs in
his right elbow that resulted in surgery. His production dropped off to 15 home
runs and 49 RBIs with a .233 batting average and he was utilized primarily as a
designated hitter. He was back in right field in 2015, although he again spent
time on the disabled list. He ended up with 19 home runs, 67 RBIs and a .276
average. Beltran was an All-Star in 2016 prior to being traded to the Texas
Rangers, and for the year he hit 29 home runs, knocked in 93, and batted .280.
He played one more season in 2017, returning to the Houston Astros and
appearing in 129 games as the Astros topped the AL Western Division and went on
to win the World Series, after which Beltran retired. Overall for his career,
he hit .279 with 2725 hits (899 with the Royals) that included 435 home runs
(123 with Kansas City) and produced 1587 RBIs (516 with KC). He was awarded
three Gold Gloves and was a nine-time All-Star. In 65 postseason games, Beltran
hit .307 with 16 home runs, 11 stolen bases, and 42 RBIs.
--
Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were recipients of
the Rookie of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America
(1947 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from
its inception through 1948 and from 1949 on to one recipient from each major
league.
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