PORT ST. LUCIE – For six years, Carlos Beltran was the best player in Kansas City. Even so, he never had to deal with the kind of media contingent that he faced yesterday when he reported to spring training with the Mets.
“Maybe there were like two people over there,” he said.
Well, as Beltran quickly discovered, things are different now. Beltran is still the marquee name, but for the first time in his career, he’s playing in a marquee city. The superstar center fielder arrived at camp for the first time as a Met yesterday, putting on his No. 15 jersey and having his every move recorded by a room full of reporters, cameramen and photographers.
Welcome to life as a Met.
“This is a lot different, but I like it,” said Beltran, who signed a seven-year $119 million pact. “This is great.”
They were encouraging words, because you know the spotlight is only going to get hotter. After all, Beltran garnered this attention essentially for pulling into the parking lot and getting dressed in his uniform. Wait until the season starts, and the performances of the highest paid Met in history matter.
There is nothing like playing in New York, and none other than Mike Cameron can attest to that. Last year, Cameron was the free-agent center fielder the Mets brought to New York. And if there’s one thing that Cameron’s first year at Shea taught him, it’s how different New York is from anyplace else.
“I don’t care what anybody says, or how good you are, this stage is a whole lot different than any other stage in the game,” said Cameron, who praised Beltran’s all-around game.
Beltran has been told all about the city that never sleeps, getting the Big Apple primer from former Yankees stars Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte, his teammates with the Astros last year.
Beltran said the pair told him that New York “was the best place to play baseball.” Then again, the duo also played for the Yankees, who treat the playoffs as a built-in part of the schedule.
Willie Randolph, who has spent 25 years in New York as either a player or coach for both the Mets and Yankees, said there’s not much he can say to ease Beltran’s transition. As the manager noted, “It’s something you have to experience on your own.
“He’s dealt with pressure before,” Randolph added. “You saw what he did last year during the playoffs. New York is a little bit different animal, but Carlos is a player and players play.”
Beltran may have changed teams, but he doesn’t plan to change who he is.
“I don’t really have to tell myself that I have to change because I’m playing on the bigger stage,” he said. “I just have to be the same Carlos I’ve always been and just go out and do my best.”
Beltran sounded ready yesterday. He shrugged off the idea that he’s the new face of the Mets (“The face of the Mets is the whole team because we all have to be part of it for us to win games”) and gushed how he thinks he and Cameron can be the top two outfielders in the NL.
He also drew chuckles when he was asked about the other center fielder in town, Bernie Williams, who has won four World Series rings.
“Well,” Beltran said, “we hope in the seven years that I’m here, we can get five.”
