When it comes to the postseason, Carlos Beltran is at it again. It seems like he becomes a different player when the playoffs begin. Though he has never been to a World Series, he has been a machine, particularly in the NLCS. Few have forgotten his postseason with the Houston Astros in 2004 which got him his 7 year, $119 million contract with the New York Mets. Through the two games so far against the San Francisco Giants, he has 2 2B and 1 HR in 7 ABs for 1.143 SLG. He hit .444 with 2 HR and 3 2B in 18 AB in the NLDS vs Washington.
Of course, all Mets fans remember about Beltran in the postseason is his called third strike on the curveball from Adam Wainwright in game 7 of the 2006 NLCS.A difficult play to forget, as the Mets dominating season came to an end. Add in the fact that the Mets have not been to the playoffs since, and its understandable why fans summarize a lot with Beltran looking at strike three. However, Beltran as a postseason player was as dominant with the Mets as he was with the Astros in 2004 and the Cardinals this postseason. Despite being 2-9 in the NLDS against the Dodgers that season (in which the Mets swept the three game series), Beltran did hit .296 with 3 HR and a 2B in the 7 game series.
In the NLDS in 2004 with Houston, playing against Atlanta, he was 10-22 (.455), 4 HR, 9 RBI in the five game series. He was on another level against St Louis when he was 10-24 (.433), 4 HR, 5 RBI. He also drew 8 walks as the Cardinals decided wisely not to pitch to him after a while.
Add in his quiet 1-4 in this year's Wild Card play-in game against the Braves and Beltran for the postseason is hitting .378 (42-111), 14, 25 with 9 2B in 30 career postseason games. He has 24 walks and 15 strikeouts (just 13.5 percent of the time) and has a SLG of .838, OBP of .489 for a 1.327 OPS.
The only thing holding Beltran back from being a top postseason player is the fact that he has not played in a World Series. He single handedly nearly took the Astros past the Cardinals in 2004 as they lost in 7 games, giving him two game 7 losses in the NLCS. It remains to be seen if he can keep up this level of play in the World Series. His division series and championship series numbers are up there with the best of all time.
In the NLDS in 2004 with Houston, playing against Atlanta, he was 10-22 (.455), 4 HR, 9 RBI in the five game series. He was on another level against St Louis when he was 10-24 (.433), 4 HR, 5 RBI. He also drew 8 walks as the Cardinals decided wisely not to pitch to him after a while.
Add in his quiet 1-4 in this year's Wild Card play-in game against the Braves and Beltran for the postseason is hitting .378 (42-111), 14, 25 with 9 2B in 30 career postseason games. He has 24 walks and 15 strikeouts (just 13.5 percent of the time) and has a SLG of .838, OBP of .489 for a 1.327 OPS.
The only thing holding Beltran back from being a top postseason player is the fact that he has not played in a World Series. He single handedly nearly took the Astros past the Cardinals in 2004 as they lost in 7 games, giving him two game 7 losses in the NLCS. It remains to be seen if he can keep up this level of play in the World Series. His division series and championship series numbers are up there with the best of all time.
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