Carlos Beltran - Center Fielder for the New York Mets
 

Carlos Ivan Beltrán (born April 24, 1977 in Manatí, Puerto Rico) is a Major League Baseball outfielder for the New York Mets.
In his youth, Beltrán excelled in all sports, with volleyball and baseball his favorites. At his father's urging, he gave up volleyball to concentrate on baseball when he was seventeen. He graduated from Fernando Callejas High School in 1995 and the widely-regarded five tool player was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the second round of the 1995 amateur baseball draft.
Beltran splits his home between Port Washington, New York and Manatí.
Beltrán became a free agent for the first time after the 2004 season and was touted as the biggest free agent on the market. After the New York Yankees decided against pursuing him, he signed a 7 year - $119 million contract with the New York Mets, the biggest contract in Mets history. It was also only the tenth contract in Major League Baseball history to be worth more than $100 million. Coincidentally, the other center fielder in New York City is the aforementioned Johnny Damon, a fellow Royals alumnus and Boras client who signed with the Yankees in December, 2005.
Reaction to the signing was met with enthusiasm by many, though some felt the Mets may have overpaid. Beltrán is what scouts call a "five-tool player," with excellent fielding skills, a good throwing arm, ability to hit for average, power, and steal bases. On August 11, 2005, Beltrán was involved in a serious accident by colliding "head on" with fellow Mets outfielder Mike Cameron when both were diving to catch a ball. Cameron suffered a concussion, temporary loss of vision, and two broken cheekbones, causing him to miss the remainder of the season. Beltrán suffered vertigo for a while, although both players recovered.
When compared to his career numbers, Beltrán's 2005 season was perceived as a large disappointment by many. In 582 at bats Beltrán had a career-low .266 batting average, 16 home runs, 78 RBIs, 83 runs scored, and 17 stolen bases, all career-low season totals. Beltrán also struggled with an injured quadriceps muscle throughout the season, which limited his speed. Despite his career-low numbers, he was still voted to his second All-Star team.
Carlos Beltrán agreed to play for Puerto Rico in the 2006 World Baseball Classic, joining Carlos Delgado, Bernie Williams, Javier Vazquez, Ivan Rodriguez and others on the team managed by St. Louis Cardinals third base coach Jose Oquendo.
Beltrán's 2006 season started off far better than his first year in New York. Although he suffered a strained right hamstring early in the year, Beltrán remained healthy. Good health and greater protection in the lineup allowed Beltrán to put up better numbers than he did in 2005, helped by 10 home runs in May. By early June he surpassed his home run total from the previous year. Beltrán was named National League Player of the Week for the week of June 5-11 for his performance on the Mets' road trip. During the week, he hit .483 with 3 homers, had 12 RBIs, scored 13 runs, and stole 5 bases.
Beltrán's performance secured him a spot in the 2006 All-Star game, his third overall and consecutively. He was joined by five other Mets, including three other starters, which set a franchise record. Beltrán was a standout for the NL as the only batter with multiple hits to go along with two stolen bases. He scored the go-ahead run that gave the National League a 2-1 lead in the third inning. Beltrán would likely have been the MVP until the American League came back to win in the 11th inning 4 to 7
He hit grand slams on July 16, and then on July 18, tying 21 others as the only players to hit grand slams in consecutive games (the Mets had an off day on July 17). At the end of the month, Beltrán hit his third grand slam in the space of 47 at bats — becoming only the third Met to hit three grand slams in one season, a feat previously accomplished by Mike Piazza in 2000. The slam helped the 2006 Mets become only the third team to hit six grand slams in a month. Beltrán became the ninth player in baseball history to hit three grand slams in a single month, and won another NL Player of the Week award.
Beltran continued to add onto his already impressive MVP resume with a walk-off home-run against the St. Louis Cardinals, on Tuesday night, August 22nd, off of Cardinals closer and former Mets pitcher Jason Isringhausen. The home-run was Beltran's second walk-off of the season, with his first coming in the 16th inning of a game earlier in the season against division rival Philadelphia.
Beltran's 41 home runs tied the Mets' single season record for homers, matching Todd Hundley's total in 1996. His 127 runs scored gave him sole possession of the Mets' single season record for runs scored.
Many factors may have contributed to Beltran's improvement in the 2006 season: being hurt in 2005 but healthy in 2006, being more comfortable in the New York spotlight, and the team's addition of fellow Puerto Rican Carlos Delgado to hit behind him as well as providing camaraderie.
Beltran returned to the playoffs in 2006 with the Mets, who placed first the National League Eastern Division. He hit three home runs in the NLCS, bringing his career playoff total to 11 home runs in 22 games.