Carlos Beltran risks snubbing Royals by choosing Mets hat for Baseball Hall of Fame plaque

Carlos Beltran risks snubbing Royals by choosing Mets hat for Baseball Hall of Fame plaque originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

This might be one of the strongest examples of it being a bit antiquated for a player to have to choose to represent one team on their hat for their plaque in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Carlos Beltran has an almost equal case for rocking a Kansas City Royals cap and a New York Mets cap, at least by the numbers.

The general social media leaning seems to suggest Beltran will choose the Mets.

He told reporters after being elected, “There’s no doubt that the Mets have a lot of weight on that decision,” in regards to the hat choice.

But let’s look at the numbers for Beltran, who it must also be noted originally came to pro baseball as a second-round pick by the Royals in 1995.

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He played seven seasons apiece for the Royals and the Mets.

He played 839 games with the Mets, 795 with the Royals.

Beltran had 123 home runs with K.C. then hit 149 for New York.

He had 516 RBI with the Royals, then 559 with the Mets.

Beltran stole more with the Royals, 164 to 100 with the Mets.

His .287 average with K.C. was slightly higher, relative to .280 with the Mets. But it was an .869 OPS with the Mets, compared to .835 with the Royals.

Beltran won Rookie of the Year with the Royals.

He made four All-Star Games with the Mets, compared to just one with the Royals (although he somehow missed an All-Star Game in K.C. in a season he finished ninth in MVP voting).

Beltran went on to play for the Yankees, Cardinals, Astros, Rangers and Giants, but they wouldn’t be in consideration here.

Let this man wear two hats on his plaque somehow. The Royals and Mets are close to equal parts of his story.