NEW YORK -- Not only will Carlos Beltrán enter the National Hall of Fame in Cooperstown this summer, but no one in Flushing will ever wear his No. 15 again.
The Mets announced Monday that they will retire Beltrán’s number and induct him into the Mets Hall of Fame in a Sept. 19 ceremony at Citi Field before a 4:10 p.m. ET game against the Phillies. Those honors will take place two months after Beltrán is inducted into Cooperstown in a July 26 event.
“Carlos Beltrán was one of the greatest offensive players in team history, combining power and speed with elite defense,” Mets owners Steve and Alex Cohen said in a statement. “We are thrilled that he will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame later this summer, and excited to honor him and his family as he joins Tom Seaver and Mike Piazza among players wearing a Mets hat in Cooperstown and whose numbers hang from the rafters.”
Beltrán wore No. 15 throughout his entire 2005-11 tenure with the Mets, and for most of his 20-year Major League career. Since Beltrán’s departure, 12 other players have donned No. 15, including Tyrone Taylor, who switched to No. 28 on Tuesday.
“This was the team where I feel like I grew the most as a character, as an individual, as a player,” Beltrán said. “When I think about my career, I tried to be the best teammate possible for the people around me. At times I felt like the connection was not there, but you know what? I see myself as a Met. My identity as a baseball player is here.”
Beltrán will become the ninth player and 11th individual to have his number retired by the Mets (not counting Jackie Robinson’s league-wide retirement), joining Casey Stengel, Gil Hodges, Tom Seaver, Mike Piazza, Jerry Koosman, Keith Hernandez, Willie Mays, Dwight Gooden, Darryl Strawberry and David Wright. The last six of those number retirements have occurred this decade, as the Mets have worked to clear a backlog of deserving candidates.
None of them spent less time in Flushing than Beltrán, who played six and a half seasons with the Mets. He compiled more bWAR (31.1) with the Mets than with any of his other six franchises, and he hit 149 of his 435 career homers while wearing orange and blue. Since his retirement as a player, Beltrán has served as a special assistant to baseball operations, deepening his ties with the franchise. For those reasons and others, he chose to enter Cooperstown this summer with a Mets cap on his plaque.
“It’s a validation of the effort of my career as a ballplayer," Beltrán said. “In the years that I played here, there’s no doubt that I went through a lot of ups and downs as a player. Being able to recognize that I deserve to have my number retired is very special for me.”