Carlos Beltran

As a child, he was an elite athlete in several sports. He later chose to focus on baseball and volleyball, but his father made him stop playing volleyball to focus solely on baseball. He attended Fernando Callejas High School where he was a stand-out baseball player.

After graduating from high school in 1995, Carlos Beltran was selected in the second round of the 1995 Draft by the Kansas City Royals. On September 14, 1998 he made his Major League debut and played in thirteen other games that season for the Royals. The following season, Carlos Beltran earned the starting center field position for the Royals. He became their top hitter as the season progressed, eventually earning him the American League Rookie of the Year award.

As Carlos Beltran slowly became a star in Major League Baseball and his contract came closer to an end, it became evident that the Kansas City Royals would be unable to afford to keep him on their team. On June 24 of the 2004 season, he was officially traded to the Houston Astros in a three-team deal. He played for the National League All-Star Team during the 2004 season just weeks after the trade occurred.

When the Astros made it to the playoffs in 2004, Carlos Beltran showed his value to the franchise as he tied the all-time single postseason record for home runs when he belted a total of 8. Unfortunately, the Astros fell short of the World Series and Carlos Beltran became a free agent.

As the top free agent on the market following the 2004 season, Carlos Beltran had a lot of interest. He eventually signed with the New York Mets for 7 years and $119 million. He has played well for the Mets, earning him a spot on the All-Star Teams in 2005 and 2006, but many fans of baseball believe that the Mets overpaid for Beltran.

With the Mets early success during the 2006 season, a birth in the playoffs seem certain and has many fans talking about a possible trip to the World Series. If the Mets were able to win a World Series title, then the critics of Carlos Beltran would likely be proven wrong as he is one of the key parts to the team.

Carlos Beltran also competed in the 2006 baseball classic">World Baseball Classic with the Puerto Rican team. Other Major League players on the team included Carlos Delgado, Bernie Williams, and Ivan Rodriguez.