Post by Rog on Mar 15, 2017 1:48:59 GMT -5
We keep going round and round about Carlos Beltran, who became a Giants anti-hero to some when the Giants didn't make the playoffs after they traded for him at the 2011 trade deadline. Some think he's a drag on his team, but we've seen quite a few positive comments regarding his clubhouse presence. The latest comes from Astros GM Jeff Luhnow.
From MLB Trade Rumors: Teammates in New York from 2014-16, McCann and Beltran have already been quite valuable behind the scenes for the Astros, per Luhnow. “These two guys have been a tremendous boost to the environment in our clubhouse,” he stated. “I’m so glad they’re here.”
Now, it's highly unlikely a GM is going to pan his two off-season acquisitions, but he went out of his way to mention their clubhouse presence. When he uses the phrase, "tremendous boost," that's pretty high praise. One would have thought he would be talking about how they could help the Astros' batting order rather than espousing their clubhouse presence.
I can see how we can disagree on Beltran's performance with the Giants. He put up excellent numbers, but he wasn't exactly an RBI machine either. He got hurt soon after being acquired, and when he returned 15 days later, the Giants were already pretty much done.
What I can't understand though is why we keep criticizing his character. From his Roberto Clemente Award, which goes to the player who "best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual's contribution to his team," to continuing positive comments about his clubhouse presence, we see evidence of strong character.
Beltran, a possible future Hall of Famer, didn't help the Giants make the playoffs in 2011, and it cost them high prospect Zack Wheeler. His play could be viewed as anywhere from disappointing to excellent, depending on the angle one approaches it from. But did we ever hear even a rumbling that Carlos was a bad clubhouse influence on the Giants?
It seems to me we're pretty tough on Giants whose surname begins with "Belt." The weird thing is that if a team could be built exclusively of "Belt's" and "Beltran's," it would likely be pretty darn good. Belt easily led the Giants with his .868 OPS last season, and even at age 39, Beltran weighed in at .850.
From MLB Trade Rumors: Teammates in New York from 2014-16, McCann and Beltran have already been quite valuable behind the scenes for the Astros, per Luhnow. “These two guys have been a tremendous boost to the environment in our clubhouse,” he stated. “I’m so glad they’re here.”
Now, it's highly unlikely a GM is going to pan his two off-season acquisitions, but he went out of his way to mention their clubhouse presence. When he uses the phrase, "tremendous boost," that's pretty high praise. One would have thought he would be talking about how they could help the Astros' batting order rather than espousing their clubhouse presence.
I can see how we can disagree on Beltran's performance with the Giants. He put up excellent numbers, but he wasn't exactly an RBI machine either. He got hurt soon after being acquired, and when he returned 15 days later, the Giants were already pretty much done.
What I can't understand though is why we keep criticizing his character. From his Roberto Clemente Award, which goes to the player who "best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual's contribution to his team," to continuing positive comments about his clubhouse presence, we see evidence of strong character.
Beltran, a possible future Hall of Famer, didn't help the Giants make the playoffs in 2011, and it cost them high prospect Zack Wheeler. His play could be viewed as anywhere from disappointing to excellent, depending on the angle one approaches it from. But did we ever hear even a rumbling that Carlos was a bad clubhouse influence on the Giants?
It seems to me we're pretty tough on Giants whose surname begins with "Belt." The weird thing is that if a team could be built exclusively of "Belt's" and "Beltran's," it would likely be pretty darn good. Belt easily led the Giants with his .868 OPS last season, and even at age 39, Beltran weighed in at .850.