Many current and former members of the Houston Astros organization are taking a lot of heat over Major League Baseball’s findings in the team’s cheating scandal, but the shot Paul Lo Duca took at former teammate Carlos Beltran will be tough to top.
The New York Mets have not won a World Series since 1986, and one of their most heartbreaking defeats came in the 2006 NLCS when Beltran left the bat on his shoulder for the final out of the game. The strikeout came after Lo Duca walked with two outs to load the bases with the Mets trailing 3-1.
After Beltran was implicated on Monday as being a big part of the Astros’ sign-stealing scheme, Lo Duca tweeted that he wished the former slugger was stealing signs during that infamous at-bat in 2006.
I wish Carlos Beltran had the signs after I walked in the 2006 playoffs.
— Paul Lo Duca (@paulloduca16) January 13, 2020
Ouch.
Beltran hit 41 homers and drove in 116 runs — both career highs — during the regular season in 2006, so it goes without saying that he could have sent the Mets to the World Series with one swing. Instead, he was fooled badly on a curveball from St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright. Ironically, Beltran had no idea what pitch was coming.
While he managed to avoid a suspension and may not look quite as bad as Alex Cora, Beltran was clearly involved in the cheating that went on in Houston. He should expect to be mocked a lot more, especially now that he is the manager of the Mets.
