When Carlos Beltran was 22 years old, he won the Rookie of the Year award after a sensational season with the Royals in 1999.
Four years later, Beltran finished ninth in MVP voting, and the next season he was an All-Star for the first time before being dealt to Houston before the trade deadline in 2004.
In seven seasons with the Royals, Beltran hit 123 home runs, 156 doubles and stole 164 bases in 795 games. The Royals were 331-464 in those contests, which is a .416 winning percentage.
Beltran and the Astros fell just short of the World Series in 2004 as they lost in the National League Championship Series. Beltran, 40, played for five other teams through the years before he signed back with Houston before this season, but he had yet to be part of a World Series championship team.
That changed on Wednesday night.
"It only took me 20 years to get to this position, but you know what? I'm happy, I'm blessed and I want to give the glory and honor to God for this moment," Beltran told Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal.
Beltran was then asked about his future plans.
"My decision won't be difficult at all after winning this ring," Beltran said. "I will play maybe one more year or stay home. But at the end of the day, I want to stay in the game. I feel like I have a lot to contribute to the game of baseball and I am passionate about the game of baseball, so I want to be around."
Coach Beltran? That has a good ring to it.
ESPN's Buster Olney had this great tweet about Beltran: "Carlos Beltran: 2,725 hits. 435 homers. 1,582 runs. 1,587 RBI. 312 stolen bases. 3 Gold Gloves. 1.021 OPS in postseason. And 1 WS title."
And former pitching star Pedro Martinez tweeted: "Your tears are not in vain, your tears are a joy to Puerto Rico and all Latin America. Congratulations my brother (at)carlosbeltran15 on the WS"
