Back in 1995, the Royals drafted Carlos Beltrán out of high school. Three years later, Beltrán made his major league debut in September of 1998 against the Oakland A’s. The next season was his first full season in the Majors. During his rookie season with the Royals in 1999, Beltrán batted .293 with 22 home runs and 108 RBIs. He also swiped 27 stolen bases. That’s not bad if you ask me. Beltrán capped off his first season by taking home the American League Rookie of the Year award. The season after his rookie season, Beltrán struggled in 98 games due to injuries. During those 98 games, he only hit 7 home runs. That’s quite a drop in power. But after the down year, I think we know what happened. That’s right, he exploded offensively with 24 home runs. After hitting 24 home runs with the Royals, he continued to dominate offensively and defensively. As many Royals’ fans know, KC was hoping to sign Beltran to a long-term deal, but unfortunately that didn’t work out. The Royals not being able to work out a long-term deal is no surprise to me because players like Carlos Beltrán and Johnny Damon don’t usually stay with a small market team for the long haul. In 2004, the Royals traded Beltrán to the Astros. I wonder how Beltrán’s career would have been different if he had played for the Royals his entire career?
