Who would have thought that Carlos Beltrán's Mets tenure would be over before it began?
Now, after the firing of A.J. Hinch and the dismissal of Alex Cora, the dismissal of Beltrán on Thursday seemed like the next logical domino to fall. And that didn't seem fair. Beltrán deserved a chance.
The Mets and Beltrán should have let stolen signs be stolen signs. Beltrán retired after that 2017 season in which the Astros stole signs illegally, and while his fingerprints may have been on the 2018 Astros' cheating, he wasn't around for it. That could've been left in the past. Unfortunately, not everyone agreed.
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Beltrán had yet to manage an inning of spring baseball. He hadn't put together a lineup card. But he did have plenty of opportunities to make the back pages of New York tabloids in just over two months. It's actually kind of funny how the Mets are somehow in their own way again, and it's not even their fault.
Beltrán was the only player named in MLB's conclusive report on the Astros' cheating scandal, for some reason. Maybe it was because he was a former player and moving to the managing ranks. Whatever the reason, it doesn't seem right, or fair. Why was he the only player named MLB's report?
Even if Beltrán had been one of the driving factor behind the sign-stealing scandal — alongside Alex Cora, who was the only coach named — is it any more egregious than the rest of the Astros players benefiting from the scandal? Is there any way to quantify who reaped the rewards the most?
It's not as if he hadn't been wearing a scarlet letter. Beltrán hadn't been honest. The ousting comes after he told Joel Sherman of the New York Post that he had no idea the center-field camera was being used to steal signs from opposing teams.
“I’m not concerned,” Beltrán told the Post in November. “There’s nothing illegal about studying your opposite team. We all have the same opportunity to look out for information and tendencies. I love and respect the game. I will be a student of it and apply all the lessons.”
Studying is not illegal. What Beltrán and the Astros did was, and it's a shame. It doesn't take away from what he was as a player: Beltrán was always a noted student of the game, learning how pitchers tip pitches, their wind-ups, tendencies. He was heralded for his detail-oriented approach to every at-bat.
There's a difference between the Cora and A.J. Hinch firings and Beltrán's situation, as well: Hinch was fired because he let it happen. Cora was fired because the worst is yet to come, both in findings and suspensions. Beltrán was just one of many during 2017, and wasn't even on the squad in 2018.
If Beltrán was one of the top dogs in this sign-stealing circus that first year, then he deserves the skepticism, but to be fired — sorry, mutually agree to part ways — seems unfair. The situation with the Mets moving forward was not beyond salvageable.
Why Beltrán was singled out is anyone's guess, but Manfred made it a point that players wouldn't face discipline, including Beltrán. If Beltrán wasn't going to be punished for his role as a player, then it should be let go. Why should he have pay for that?
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Beltrán isn't, nor should he be, absolved of his sins, but it shouldn't have amounted to losing his job. He shouldn't have to pay now for something he did two years ago while still a player. This was a new chapter in his career with the opportunity to make right.
The Mets needed to give their new skipper the opportunity to set things right: Maybe that's a statement, maybe that's a press conference. Admit you were part of it, because there's no hiding it anymore. Getting out in front of the story — well, as much as you can at this point — was the best route to take, and could have bought Beltrán some goodwill and patience for the Mets and their fans, and maybe fans around the league.
It was simple: Just tell the truth. Tell us what we already know. Admit you were there. Admit you learned from your mistakes. Promise you won't do it again. Then move on.
Maybe that wouldn't have meant much to the skeptics, but you know whose butt would've been in the jackpot if he got caught again? Carlos Beltrán's.
Sure, the Mets might look like fools in the immediate and it might be a distraction, especially in New York. But Beltrán deserved a second chance at a first chance.
