NEW YORK, NY – The induction of Carlos Beltran into the Hall of Fame brought back memories of his stay with the N.Y. Yankees during the 2014-16 seasons.
His veteran presence was felt immediately as soon as he put on the pinstripes. I remember him putting a forum together for the Yankees farmhands with guest speakers Brett Gardner and CC Sabathia. They spoke about what to expect as they climbed the ladder up to the Bronx. I remember picking Beltran’s brain on his workout routine and he told me about his batting cage in the back of his home in Puerto Rico. It was there that he would take 300 swings from each side of the plate on a daily basis during the off-season.
Another time he showed up to a Hank’s Yanks event, which was an amateur baseball team that Yankees owner Hank Steinbrenner sponsored.
It was there where he told me that he wanted to remain a Yankee. That was 2016, and it was the last season of the 3 year deal he signed. The Yankees were looking to trade him before they lost him to free agency.
When I told Hank how Carlos felt, he basically brushed me off. About a month later, I got a phone call from a Yankee scout named John Kramer. He wanted to know if Hank was with me cause they’re trying to reach him to no avail. Even though I was in NY and Hank was in Florida, I told Kramer Hank was in the bathroom. He told me to have Hank call him back cause they were ready to pull the trigger on trading Beltran to the Texas Rangers.
I asked him who they were getting back, Kramer responded three Minor League pitchers. I immediately called Hank to inform him what was going on. He asked me if I know anything about those pitchers. I told him they all sucked as I tried everything in my power to veto the trade. Hank knew I was a fan of Beltran and he also knew that I was full of it with my evaluation on those pitchers.
He okayed the trade and I called Kramer back and said, “Pull the trigger.” Kramer wanted to speak to Hank and I continued to use the, “He’s in the bathroom” line. The trade was made and that was the end of Beltran’s Yankee stay.
The sad part of Beltran’s election is that his buddy, Joe Oaks, wasn’t around to share the moment. Oaks had a clothing store named Portabella, which was located across the street from the Grand Hyatt Hotel where most visiting teams stayed when they played the Yankees or Mets. Oaks would take care of the players whenever they came into his store to shop the latest styles.
Somewhere up above, Joe is smiling down on Carlos’ induction.
You can read about the trade in detail in the book Henry & Me, the Most Interesting Yankee That Nobody Knew, available on Amazon!
