On January 13, 2010, Carlos Beltran had surgery on his knee and was originally expected to miss 8–12 weeksof the baseball season. This was the exact moment when most baseball insiders said that Beltran’s best days are behind him.
After splitting the 2011 season with the New York Mets and the San Francisco Giants, Beltran signed a two-year contract worth $26 million dollars with the St. Louis Cardinals.
When the Cardinals failed to sign Albert Pujols, they asked more of the 35-year-old outfielder. So far Beltran has shown to be a leader in the clubhouse as well as on the field. He has helped the Cardinals to a 25 in 19 record; which is enough for first place in the National League Central.
In last night’s game against the San Diego Padres Beltran’s league leading 14th homerun proved to be the winning hit. In the bottom of the fifth inning with the score tied at 3, Beltran came to the plate with a runner on first, and on a 0-1 count Beltran blasted a Jeff Suppan fastball into the right field seats.
His hit helped the Cardinals to complete the sweep of the Padres 6-3. David Freeze contributed a solo homerun his 9th of the season.
Beltran is proving his critics wrong with every hit.
Written by Tim Horodyski, HS-News Sports Writer
