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Speaker 1: What's up, Mets fans.

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Speaker 2: We have a unbelievable interview for you guys today on

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Speaker 2: the METSU Podcast. We're sitting down with Carlos Beltron. Carlos,

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Speaker 2: first off, thank you so much for doing this. Super excited,

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Speaker 2: super excited to talk to you. What are your expectations

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Speaker 2: for the team this season?

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Speaker 3: Well, there's not out There's going to be a lot

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Speaker 3: of high expectations. You know, the organization have done a

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Speaker 3: great job adding good players to the organization. Uh, the

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Speaker 3: signings in the off season, the players that we have,

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Speaker 3: there's no doubt that we hopefully we want this guy

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Speaker 3: to stay healthy through all the whole period of the

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Speaker 3: season and uh And at the end of the day,

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Speaker 3: all we want to do is are organization is to

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Speaker 3: be consistent. So we want to create consistency with the

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Speaker 3: way we practice in spring training, hopefully carry that throughout

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Speaker 3: the season. And uh And at the end of the day,

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Speaker 3: you want to get to the playoffs, so that's where

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Speaker 3: you want to be. You want to end up there.

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Speaker 3: Once you're there, it's always a great chance for you

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Speaker 3: to continue to add. Uh to what every team wants

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Speaker 3: in baseball, hopefully the chance to win a championship.

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Speaker 4: It feels very intuitive from the outside of how players

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Speaker 4: set goals themselves and you play well, hit well, play

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Speaker 4: the defense team does better.

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Speaker 1: You're good.

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Speaker 4: Now is your transition to a front office role? What's

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Speaker 4: it like setting goals for yourself for a season individually?

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Speaker 3: Well, in my case, have the experience to play the

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Speaker 3: game for a long time. So my job is to

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Speaker 3: basically share the feedback that I know when I was

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Speaker 3: in the clubhouse, the things that were important for the players,

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Speaker 3: the things the players sometimes would like to see happening

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Speaker 3: in the clubhouse, like environment, like communication, those type of

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Speaker 3: things that a lot of times you know, there's always

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Speaker 3: a line.

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Speaker 1: Between front office and the players.

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Speaker 3: At least in my case when I was a player,

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Speaker 3: I never got to see the front office with good

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Speaker 3: eyes because at the end of the day, we have

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Speaker 3: to sit down and negotiate, write a contract. But at

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Speaker 3: the same time, you have to realize as a player

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Speaker 3: that the organization is always doing the best they can

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Speaker 3: to provide tools and sources for you play for you

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Speaker 3: as a player. Right for example, like the organization invests

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Speaker 3: so much money and on you know, analytics and nutrition

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Speaker 3: equipment throughout the season to prepare you as a player.

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Speaker 3: So I think my job is too hopefully create awareness

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Speaker 3: on the player's side, right, let them know that as

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Speaker 3: an organization, we want them to be successful, because if

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Speaker 3: they're successful as an organization, we're going to be successful.

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Speaker 2: We saw that you'd been kind of mentoring Francisco Lindor

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Speaker 2: over the last few years. Do you think that your

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Speaker 2: relationship with him has kind of helped maybe create this

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Speaker 2: kind of rule for the team.

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Speaker 1: Well, there's no doubt that.

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Speaker 3: You know, he called me in the off season saying, man,

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Speaker 3: you know, I want you, I want I want you.

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Speaker 3: And I said, well, you know what, at the end

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Speaker 3: of the day, they have to come from the organization, right,

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Speaker 3: And Billy reach out to me and gave me a

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Speaker 3: playbook and how he envisioned me right on this role.

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Speaker 3: And you know, basically, I know Billy since I was

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Speaker 3: with the Yankees. He was an assistant GM to cash

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Speaker 3: Man and I was a player on that year, So

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Speaker 3: I get to talk a lot of baseball ability in

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Speaker 3: the clubhouse. So he's a great guy. He means well,

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Speaker 3: he wants to do a good job. He wants to

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Speaker 3: create a good program in the minor league system. He

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Speaker 3: he feels that there's a lot of things that he

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Speaker 3: wants to contribute to this organization, and and my job

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Speaker 3: is to help him out hopefully accomplish that with the

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Speaker 3: with the whole team.

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Speaker 4: Just Go had a great quote about you too, saying

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Speaker 4: exactly what you've just said to us, that your role

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Speaker 4: being that line connecting the players the front office is

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Speaker 4: incredibly valuable. But even just step back for a second,

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Speaker 4: last year you spent working in the media. Did you

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Speaker 4: ever think that was something you do when you were

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Speaker 4: a player?

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Speaker 1: No, I never thought about it.

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Speaker 3: You know, when when you spend so much time in

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Speaker 3: the in the clubhouse and you retire from the game,

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Speaker 3: a lot of time you think that your career is

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Speaker 3: over in the game of baseball. In my case, I

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Speaker 3: guess I was able to relate to a lot of people,

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Speaker 3: and I never was the guy that you know mistreated

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Speaker 3: any once, So I think that also helped me out

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Speaker 3: to establish relationship throughout the game. So I feel that

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Speaker 3: when I got that opportunity, there's no doubt that opportunity open,

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Speaker 3: this opportunity right to be back in the game because

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Speaker 3: you kind of get to share the knowledge about the

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Speaker 3: game of basically what you know, you sometimes you have

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Speaker 3: to end up breaking down plays. So the media was

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Speaker 3: kind of tricky for me because as a player, I

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Speaker 3: never wanted to be criticized, right, so you don't like

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Speaker 3: the part of the game. So sometimes I feel like

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Speaker 3: I was limited, you know, by by Okay, did I

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Speaker 3: say it right, you know, or do I criticize the guy?

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Speaker 1: So but you know what, a the end, I was

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Speaker 1: a good experience.

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Speaker 3: Now being more on the field, I don't have to

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Speaker 3: worry about that.

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Speaker 1: I just have to worry about.

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Speaker 3: Continue to pass the good word right to the players

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Speaker 3: and to try to find the things that it's important

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Speaker 3: in the clubhouse, the hopefully organization we can provide.

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Speaker 2: Going back to your playing days, now, you start off

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Speaker 2: with kids the city, and then you had that trade

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Speaker 2: going to Houston, and then you eventually came to the Mets,

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Speaker 2: and there was definitely a shift in the competitiveness or

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Speaker 2: the goals of those teams where the Astros and the

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Speaker 2: Mets were teams trying to build for the future, trying

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Speaker 2: to win championships. How did it feel as a player

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Speaker 2: changing environments like that.

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Speaker 3: It's a process, you know, Like in the years in

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Speaker 3: Kansas City, that was the organization that I knew that

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Speaker 3: was a ganization that draft me and I grew up

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Speaker 3: there and then got to the big leagues. Every year

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Speaker 3: we lost one hundred games, so I never experienced winning

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Speaker 3: over there. When I got traded to the Astros, I

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Speaker 3: got to the opportunity to being a team that we

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Speaker 3: compete and being around.

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Speaker 1: Bijio, bid Will Clam and pat It.

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Speaker 3: I mean, a bunch of guys that were basically dominating

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Speaker 3: right in their era, and I got to see how

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Speaker 3: they prepare. So for me, it was a great experience.

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Speaker 3: And at the same time, we ended up going into

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Speaker 3: the playoffs.

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Speaker 1: I had a great run. Pretty good. Yeah, so I

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Speaker 1: was there with a fool a lot of people.

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Speaker 3: No, no, no, no, no, no, you know I had good

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Speaker 3: I have good seasons in Kansas City, but people don't

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Speaker 3: really knew who I was. So when I got traded

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Speaker 3: to to the to the Astros, it's like, where did this.

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Speaker 1: Guy come from? Bro? Come on, man, look.

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Speaker 3: At my first five years good years there, Like I

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Speaker 3: don't mean hundred.

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Speaker 1: Score one hundred. I play.

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Speaker 3: I felt like I impact the game in different ways anyway.

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Speaker 3: I end up signing in New York and UH, and

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Speaker 3: I was a process, man, a learning process. Why because

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Speaker 3: when you play in a small market team and now

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Speaker 3: you go to a big market team, the attention the media.

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Speaker 1: Bro I was like, oh my god, how I deal

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Speaker 1: with this? How I deal with failure? The attention of.

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Speaker 3: You know, you're going on for four and the next

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Speaker 3: day you open the paper, it's like, oh my god,

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Speaker 3: I'm being killed here.

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Speaker 1: Like so it's hard man and and uh and the

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Speaker 1: fans uh. You know, the they're passionate.

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Speaker 3: They're going to let you know when you when you fail,

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Speaker 3: and they're gonna let you know when you succeed. And

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Speaker 3: I feel in my case that playing in New York

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Speaker 3: it only makes me better because I felt like I

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Speaker 3: needed to come to the ball part prepared, take care

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Speaker 3: of things, and bring my a game day in and

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Speaker 3: day out.

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Speaker 4: What was it like mentality wise that first year with

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Speaker 4: the team, because you came off the incredible run with

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Speaker 4: the Astros, you signed the big contract and everyone knew

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Speaker 4: you were one of the market players in the sport,

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Speaker 4: and then it doesn't exactly start how you envisioned it starting.

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Speaker 4: How do you stay on top of yourself and keep

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Speaker 4: the confidence.

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Speaker 1: I felt a lot of pressure. I felt a lot

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Speaker 1: of pressure.

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Speaker 3: I felt that I came with a big contract that

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Speaker 3: you mentioned. There were a lot of things that I

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Speaker 3: ended up doing the normally I didn't do before. I

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Speaker 3: always say this, and I hope I don't sound like negative,

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Speaker 3: but I try to be too nice.

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Speaker 1: You know.

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Speaker 3: I try to please everybody, and I forgot how to

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Speaker 3: take care of things, how to please myself first. So

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Speaker 3: I came to New York with a mentality to play

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Speaker 3: the game. So there was a lot of areas that

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Speaker 3: I was not used to deal with, like you know,

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Speaker 3: putting time aside for the media, doing all the requests

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Speaker 3: that we get as a player. So I try to

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Speaker 3: please everyone, and I feel like I took time from

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Speaker 3: my preparation. So my second year, I'm thinking, okay, it's

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Speaker 3: okay to say no, it's okay to say later. So

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Speaker 3: my first year, I didn't know how to say no.

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Speaker 3: I didn't know how to say later. So my second year,

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Speaker 3: I say, you know what, I gotta take care of

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Speaker 3: my preparation. So I did that. Thank God, a good season.

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Speaker 3: But you know what, it's a learning process. Don't matter

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Speaker 3: where you play. When you come to play New York,

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Speaker 3: it's a different animal. It's a different story. And even

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Speaker 3: though if you have spent a lot of time in

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Speaker 3: the big leagues, you feel it, you feel it. But

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Speaker 3: if you win here, if you do good here, it

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Speaker 3: opens the door for you in many areas. So after

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Speaker 3: I play in New York, right, I got traded to

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Speaker 3: San Francisco, and then the year after I signed with

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Speaker 3: the Cardinals. So in Saint Luis we have three reporters us.

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Speaker 3: So I'm like and people complaining, oh no, man asking

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Speaker 3: for two much.

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Speaker 1: I said, brother, are you this is a piece of cake?

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Speaker 1: Man like, this is nothing like you No, just do

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Speaker 1: it man, Like.

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Speaker 3: I mean, I played. I come from New York. Man

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Speaker 3: Like thirty people in the clubhouse. Everyone wants something and

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Speaker 3: you you come out of the shower, you haven't even

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Speaker 3: put you underwear on, and they're like, like, you know,

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Speaker 3: they're ready to go. So it's a.

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Speaker 1: It's a lot of tension for sure.

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Speaker 2: The World Baseball Classic is coming up. You played on

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Speaker 2: four different World Baseball Classic teams from Team Puerto Rico.

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Speaker 1: What do it means for you to play for your country?

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Speaker 3: I mean, for me, it was everything because I never

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Speaker 3: had that opportunity as a kid to represent Puerto Rico.

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Speaker 3: So when MLB came with the idea of doing the Classic,

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Speaker 3: I was like, man, this is fun because first of all,

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Speaker 3: allow you to connect with the people that's from your country.

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Speaker 3: Then normally you don't get the chance to connect, right.

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Speaker 3: So I got to be in the same clowhouse with

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Speaker 3: Francisco Indoor when he was in Cleveland. We biased with

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Speaker 3: you know, Jarddy Molina and with the ideas. So now

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Speaker 3: I got to see this younger generation of Puerto Rican

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Speaker 3: players kind of like blooming and develop themselves into an

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Speaker 3: everyday player and starts in the game of baseball. So

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Speaker 3: for me, it was incredible, incredible experience where in the

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Speaker 3: the you know, the Puerto Rico Jersey was fun. I

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Speaker 3: did it for four years and uh and like I said,

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Speaker 3: every single year I was I was hoping that event

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Speaker 3: to be more often.

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Speaker 1: You know, they did it every.

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Speaker 3: Four years, and man, if they could do this event

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Speaker 3: every two years, it will even be super fun. At

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Speaker 3: the same time, as a player sprint training, you know,

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Speaker 3: they could be repetitive. You know, they give you time

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Speaker 3: to live spring training and you know, be more relaxed

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Speaker 3: and be more into game mode.

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Speaker 1: So it will help you as a player.

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Speaker 4: For sure talk to us about the Carlos Beltran Baseball

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Speaker 4: Academy down in Puerto Rico, some players you've worked with

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Speaker 4: and what you hope to accomplish with it.

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Speaker 1: Well, for me, we just turned ten years.

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Speaker 3: At turn anniversary, we have graduated more than six hundred

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Speaker 3: kids from my academy. The beautiful thing is that you know,

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Speaker 3: almost ninety eight percent of the kids they get scholarships

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Speaker 3: to come to colleges and junior colleges in the United States,

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Speaker 3: one percent decide to stay in Puerto Rico.

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Speaker 1: Another great thing that we do is that.

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Speaker 3: Almost seventy five percent of our kids, our first time

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Speaker 3: generation from those families.

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Speaker 1: Going to colleges.

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Speaker 3: So we feel we feel like we're breaking a change,

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Speaker 3: a change of you know, seeing education as an opportunity

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Speaker 3: for you to continue to growth. You know, I graduated

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Speaker 3: from high school. I only have a high school diploma

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Speaker 3: that give me an opportunity to play the game for

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Speaker 3: twenty years. But at the same time, I want to

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Speaker 3: I want to encourage the kids in my academy that

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Speaker 3: there's a lot of opportunities throughout the game of baseball.

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Speaker 3: You know, you don't have to be the stronger guy.

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Speaker 3: You don't have to be the fastest guy. You only

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Speaker 3: have to get to understand the basics of the game,

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Speaker 3: and if you're capable of doing that, you could have

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Speaker 3: an education throughout baseball. So that's my motivation. I'm excited.

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Speaker 3: We have one hundred and fifty eight hundred and fifty

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Speaker 3: five kids from maybe sixty municipalities of the island, so.

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Speaker 1: I'm blessed.

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Speaker 3: I never had that opportunity to participate in a school

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Speaker 3: like that, but also I was not limited by not

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Speaker 3: creating any space for others.

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Speaker 2: That's amazing. We would love to talk to you more,

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Speaker 2: but we know you're a busy man. Thank you so

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Speaker 2: much for taking time out of your day and hope

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Speaker 2: you guys enjoyed the episode. Carlos Peltron, thank you appreciate

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Speaker 2: your brother