Baseball

Mets Hire Carlos Beltran as Their New Manager


Carlos Beltran, the former All-Star center fielder who played seven seasons for the Mets but is also remembered for striking out on the cusp of a trip to the World Series, has been named the team’s new manager.

The Mets plan to announce Beltran’s hiring next week, according to a person familiar with the decision, ending a search that began after they fired Mickey Callaway in October after two more years out of the postseason. Born in Puerto Rico, he will be the team’s first Latino manager.

Beltran, 42, played for the Mets from 2005 to 2011 and was a five-time All-Star during his span, earning three Gold Gloves. He also played for Kansas City, Houston, San Francisco, St. Louis, Texas and the Yankees, collecting four more All-Star appearances.

While Beltran was one of the best players in baseball during his Mets years, many fans in New York still remember him for one of the more iconic, and painful, moments in the team’s recent history. Striding to the plate with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 7 of the 2006 National League Championship Series, Beltran struck out on three pitches against St. Louis reliever Adam Wainwright to end the series. The final pitch, a devastating curveball, caught him with the bat on his shoulder, sending the Cardinals to the World Series and the Mets home for the winter.

He joined the San Francisco Giants in 2011, then the Cardinals, the Yankees, the Texas Rangers, and retired from the Houston Astros in 2017. It was his second tenure with the team, and came just over a month after he capped his 20th major-league season by finally winning a World Series.

He retired in 2017, and promptly interviewed for — and failed to get — the Yankees’ managerial job. He has spent the last year as a special assistant to Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman. He will take over the Mets despite having no previous experience in a managing or coaching role in the majors or the minor leagues.

He takes over for Callaway, who was fired days after the season ended after finishing 163-161 in his two years as manager. The Mets finished the 2019 season 86-76 and failed to make the playoffs for the 11th time in 13 seasons.

James Wagner contributed reporting.



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