Carlos Beltran is a fallen hero who turned out to be merely mortal. A small part of his character betrayed him and, I’m afraid, made all the difference…
As Carlos Beltran said of himself yesterday, he is a good and honorable person, husband, father, and citizen.
And whether or not his competitive drive and will to win caused Beltran to engage in MLB declared illegal sign-stealing activity has little consequence when weighed against his inability to separate right from wrong.
Carlos Beltran touched the third rail when he transferred an art into a science.
Beltran believed, and most of us can agree that in any sport I’ll take what you give me. If your catcher is not adequately hiding signs from our third base coach, he’s open game to have those signs “stolen” and relayed to the hitter.
If a pitcher like Dallas Keuchel or James Paxton has a flaw in their delivery or body language that “tips” the pitch they are about to throw, that all fair in love and war as well.
To his credit, Carlos Betran took each aside to point the flaw, and he used video to do it. Again, nothing wrong with that.
Beltran: White Lies, Big Lies
In the vernacular of lies, these are “white” lies of the kind where you say you are 6’1″, not the 5’11” you really are. Harmless, as opposed to the big lie a person tells the police in an attempt to evade prosecution.
Beltran’s white lie cheating crossed a bridge when he spearheaded the installation of those center field cameras at Minute Maid Park following the suggestion of teammate Alex Cora that – “Hey, why not do this?”
As a respected veteran playing his final season in a major league uniform, Beltran took his leadership role with the team a step too far.
Even his manager, AJ Hinch, could only strum up the courage to stop it by destroying two TV monitors in the dugout.
The most distressing aspect of Beltran’s behavior and the biggest strike against his character, however, was yet to come when he engaged in a campaign to be the new Mets manager when Mickey Calloway was dismissed.
Beltran was vocal in proclaiming the only team he wanted to manage, despite other proposals, is the New York Mets.
From all accounts, the Mets were smitten with Beltran from the day he walked in for his first interview. But something became unhinged along the way as the meetings proceded.
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell?
Beltran knew at that point MLB would soon be calling. The Mets knew of an investigation MLB was initiating into sign-stealing with an accent on the Astros.
Still, they had no reason to believe Beltran was about to be implicated.
Pound the Mets for not broaching the subject at the very least, but the facts remain. Beltran chose to take the low road with a lie and not the high road.
Perhaps, assuming the role of a witness at a trial, Beltran escaped into the comfort of – “Ask me a question, and I’ll answer it, but don’t expect me to volunteer anything.”
In a situation where a major league franchise, its players, its fans are relying on You to take on a position with the force and responsibility as their manager – and You don’t mention – “Hey, there’s something maybe we should talk about”?
Beltran: No Excuse For Deceit
Come on, that’s deceit of significant order.
Moreover, it’s deceit that spills over into the need to have a full complement of major league managers to at least proportionately meet the thirty percent of players who are currently of Latino descent.
Carlos Beltran needs to disappear for a while to give everyone a chance to have some perspective on what has transpired here.
A Hall of Fame career is in the balance. Judgments will be forthcoming when he is eligible for election in 2023. The field is now muddy, and Carlos Beltran has no one to blame but himself…
Baseball, it is said, is only a game. True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona. Not all holes, or games, are created equal.
