While Beltran was one of the best players in baseball during his Mets years, many fans in New York still remember him for one of the more iconic, and painful, moments in the team’s recent history. Standing at the plate with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 7 of the 2006 National League Championship Series, Beltran struck out on three pitches against St. Louis reliever Adam Wainwright to end the series. The final pitch, a devastating curveball, caught him with the bat on his shoulder, sending the Cardinals to the World Series and the Mets home for the winter.

He was traded to the San Francisco Giants for Zack Wheeler in 2011, then played for the Cardinals, the Yankees, the Texas Rangers, and retired from the Houston Astros in 2017. It was his second tenure in Houston, where he capped his 20th major-league season by finally winning a World Series. During his time there, he was so revered by teammates for his knowledge of the game that his role was almost that of a player-coach.

He has spent the last year as a special assistant to Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman. He will take over the Mets despite having no previous experience in a managing or coaching role in the majors or the minor leagues. Callaway also had no previous managing experience when he was hired, nor did Willie Randolph, who managed the Mets from 2005-2008.

As a Yankees special assistant, Beltran wrote scouting reports and counseled young players. He is bilingual, making it easier for him to connect with Spanish-speaking players and ensure that messages are not lost in translation. Beltran was at the forefront of Major League Baseball’s initiative that every club have a full-time interpreters.