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St. Louis Cardinals right fielder Carlos Beltran has played in 2,062 major league baseball games without ever making it to the World Series, second among active players behind Detroit Tigers‘ Torii Hunter with 2,090. Experts think it’s almost a lock that Hunter will make it there this year, but what about Beltran?
Beltran’s streak of futility must be all the more frustrating because of how close he has come in the past. He has played in three NLCS Game 7s, and his team lost every time. The Cardinals beat his Houston Astros in 2004 and his New York Mets in 2006. Last year, it was the San Francisco Giants who knocked Beltran and the Cardinals out of the playoffs.
You have to wonder if Beltran ever thinks about the fact that he played for the Giants in the year between their two recent World Series titles.
Beltran signed with the Cardinals in part because of his desire for the ultimate goal. He saw his former teammate Lance Berkman finally get a ring with St Louis in 2011. Now in the waning days of his contract and with the future uncertain, Beltran must have high hopes that this will be the year.
He has done his part to help his teams in the postseason. Beltran has the highest career OPS of any player in history. Most people only remember the backwards K in the 2006 Game 7, but in 34 postseason games, Beltran has a .363 average and 14 home runs to go with 11 stolen bases and 25 walks.
The Cardinals haven’t had many times this season when their bats and pitchers were hot at the same time. If they can get both going during this postseason, Beltran’s World Series dream might finally come true.
Sara Lefebvre is a St Louis Cardinals writer for www.RantSports.com. Connect with her on Google.
