Carlos BELTRAN
Yankees outfielder Carlos Belt ran took a swing at some Q&A with Post columnist Steve Serby.
Q: If you didn’t know you were 39 years old, how old would you feel? Do you feel like 29? A: (Laugh) Let’s say early 30s.
Q: I remember reading you were washed up. A: Everyone can have their own opinion. I don’t take it personal. I know that if I’m healthy, I could be productive. So what people think about it doesn’t really ... take my sleep away. ... It didn’t really take a long time for me to find my swing when I got to spring training. I talked to [third-base coach Joe] Espada about it, I said, “Man, you know what? This year, I know I can hit 25 homers if I stay healthy.”
Q: Do you keep a book in your head on pitchers? A: Yeah, I do. I got some notes when I see a guy that I face and I see something on that guy that I could take it as an advantage for the next time I face him. Let’s say that guy’s tipping pitches, things like that, I like to look into that a lot, that’s my bread and butter. I try to find something on everybody. That doesn’t really translate into success for me, but it translates into a comfortable at-bat.
Q: Is this by tape study, or during the game? A: It could be during the game, it could be video. ... If I never [have faced] a guy, I go in the computer to research and kind of like get some videos and compare them with when they throw the fastball, when they throw the curveball and when they throw the changeup. And most of the guys, they do something different, so if I can take a pitch or two pitches away from that guy who I’m facing. ... Let’s say that guy is fastball, curveball, changeup. And he tips the curveball and he tips the changeup. I’m taking those two pitches away from him, so now I know those pitches are coming. So for me, instead of just going out there and reacting, I can be relaxed.
Q: How long have you been this kind of a student of the game? A: I’ve been doing this since 2002. ... I share information with some of the guys, they like to know. Some other guys, they don’t like to know because they feel that they get anxious when they know what’s coming.
Q: How did you get started in 2002? A: Talking to Roberto Alomar, I asked questions to Roberto, I asked questions to Edgar Martinez, guys that were successful. I heard around the league that they were very smart and they studied the game, so I wanted to get to know them, wanted to know what they were doing. Some of those guys shared information. They said, “If you’re a base stealer, make sure you take a look at the pitcher’s feet. Sometimes when they put those feet together means that they’re gonna go high, gonna take the full windup. And then pitchers, make sure you look at the glove. Sometimes they open the glove on the changeup and they tighten the glove on the fastball.” So I started looking into that, and I started seeing things and I started saying, “Wow! It’s crazy how people at the big league level are just tipping pitches.” I started taking advantage of that, and now it’s like that’s what I do every day.
Q: When your career started, what kind of career did you imagine? A: The first year, you don’t know what you’re capable of doing. Once I was able to do what I did [in 1999], I felt like if I try to dedicate myself more, I can be this type of player every year. Year after year you start realizing that I have an ability that God gave me, but at the same time, I take my job so serious and I come to the ballpark, study pitchers, I work my routines every single day. And I’m a very calm person. I think being calm also allows me to understand that in baseball you’re gonna have ups and downs, and if you’re calm, you kind of like know like how to manage those situations.
Q: But a Hall of Fame career? A: No, no, no, that’s out of the question, because you play year by year, you don’t think about the future, you think about the moment. ... But yeah, now that I am in the position where I am, I get all these reporters coming to me asking me about the Hall of Fame. ... For me, it’s a big blessing that God has allowed me to play this game for a long time, and has allowed me also to accumulate numbers for this amount of years, and I’m very happy just to be considered that.
Q: How driven are you to win your first World Series championship? A: That’s why I’m still playing the game. I want to experience that. I hope I can experience that. I have experienced so many good things in baseball — All-Star Games, Gold Glove, Silver Slugger award, Roberto Clemente award, which was for me one of the greatest accomplishments in baseball. But yeah, being a World Series champion, that’s gotta be one of the top.
Q: Would you feel unfulfilled if you didn’t win a World Series? A: Not really, because there have been a lot of real good players that have played the game of baseball have never actually been in the World Series. So the fact that I was able to get there, and the fact that I feel that I can play a couple more years and hopefully I can give myself chance of hopefully being there ... I just want to be positive about that.
Q: How would you feel about a trade to a contender? A: I’ve been traded two times in my career. That’s not in my hands. The organization is the one that dictates what’s gonna happen and what direction they’re gonna take. At this point in my career, I don’t take trades as being betrayed. This is a business.
Q: You love playing in New York, right? A: I love the city, I love the challenge. It’s a tough place to play, no doubt about it. This is the best platform for a player to play, and the best market to play.
Q: I would think you would have mixed feelings if the Yankees decide to be sellers and trade you to a contender. A: I want to be here. I still believe that this team has a chance. But if the organization feels different than what I feel, then they will make their move.
Q: If you could face one pitcher in the history of baseball, who would it be? A: Nolan Ryan. I have heard so many good things about Nolan Ryan, how tough he was, how competitive he was. Every time I faced [Roger] Clemens, that’s kind of like similar, I guess.
Q: What was Jose Reyes like as a teammate with the Mets? A: Great teammate. A lot of people see Jose Reyes as a guy that, he’s always jumping around, always smiling. ... He is so serious about the game. He plays so hard, he works so hard, he goes out there every day, takes ground balls, he goes to the weight room, lifts weights. You cannot have a good body the way he had without working.
Q: Back to the Mets? A: For me, he belongs to the Mets. Reyes is Mets. He grew up in that organization. I think he will bring joy to the fans again. Reyes is a guy that could keep the clubhouse loose the way he plays the game, the passion that he brings to the game ... always on the first step when someone scores ... always celebrating. ... I don’t envision Jose Reyes on any other team other than being a Met.
Q: You once tweeted: “You should enjoy life. It passes quickly.” A: A lot of people spend so much time worrying about so many things that you lose focus of what is important. Family’s important. Friendships are important. For example, I want to do the best I can, and if I don’t produce, I get upset, and a lot of guys do that. Sometimes when I go home, and I see my kids healthy, my wife healthy ... we take all that sometimes for granted. So I try to be very conscious of enjoying every moment, but at the same time, I try not to take it for granted. I try to take it like every moment is special.