Carlos Beltran 

CARLOS IVAN BELTRAN (KC)
2001 Highlights:
Beltran was named the Royals Player of the Year after leading the club with a .306 average, 106 runs, 101 RBI and 31 stolen bases...became the youngest player to win the award since George Brett in 1975 and 1976 at the ages of 22 and 23. Recorded his 2nd 100-run, 100-RBI season and the 8th in club history...is one of 5 Royals to accomplish the feat, joining George Brett (1979, 1985), Jermaine Dye (2000), Darrell Porter (1979) and Mike Sweeney (1999, 2000). Ranked among league leaders in 11 offensive categories as well as outfield assists (tied for 2nd)...led the league in stolen base percentage, going 31-for-32 (.969). Recorded career highs in average (.306), doubles (32), triples (12) and stolen bases (31)...led team in multi-hit games with 54. Ranked 3rd in the American League after the All-Star Break with a .358 average (101-for-282), trailing Jason Giambi (.367) and Frank Catalanotto (.358). Led the Major Leagues in hits and RBI in the final 30 days of the season, logging 34 hits and 24 RBI in his last 21 games to finish ahead of Sammy Sosa’s 33 hits and 23 RBI. Tied a career-high by driving in 6 runs on the final day of the season to finish ahead of Mike Sweeney as the team’s leader with 101 RBI. Ranked 1st among A.L. outfielders with 6 double plays and 3rd in total chances (423). Recorded 4 hitting streaks of 10 games or more, including a career-best 14-game streak from July 31 to Aug. 14...he hit .367 (22-for-60) with 5 doubles during the streak. Set a club record for consecutive stolen bases on Aug. 10 vs. Detroit with 33, breaking the old record of 32 set by Willie Wilson from July 23 to Sept. 23, 1980...his streak was snapped the next night by Detroit’s Javier Cardona who threw Beltran out at 2nd in the 4th inning...it was the 1st time he had been caught stealing since Sept. 29, 1999 at Seattle.
Stole 3rd base twice on the season, swiping 2nd and 3rd in the 6th frame off Minnesota’s Brad Radke on Aug. 26...also stole 2nd and 3rd in the 7th inning off Cleveland’s Dave Burba on Oct. 2 after bunting for an infield single...he has stolen 3rd base 3 times, including June 24, 1998 vs. Chicago. Did not commit an error in the 1st 64 games, a personal stretch of 94 games without an error. Hit safely in 18 of 19 games from April 26 to May 18 (including 10 straight), going 24-for-75 (.320) during that stretch. Hit .263 before the All-Star break (88-for-335), including a .297 mark as a right-handed batter....was second on the team in runs scored (49) and third in RBI (44). Hit his 1st career grand slam off Chicago’s Bobby Howry in the 7th inning on Aug. 22 to cap KC’s scoring in a 13-12 loss...also hit a grand slam off Detroit’s Adam Bernero in the 9th inning on Oct. 7 in a 10-4 win on the final day of the season. Homered in 3 straight games at Cleveland (June 29-July 1), and crushed 6 home runs in 15 at bats from June 27-July 1...all 6 home runs came in the 7th spot in the order. Teamed with Mike Sweeney and Raul Ibanez to become just the 2nd trio in Major League history to each homer in the same 3 consecutive games (June 29-July 1)...the only other teammates to accomplish the same feat were Dante Bichette, Vinny Castilla and Larry Walker with Colorado from Aug. 2-4, 1995.
Teamed with Raul Ibanez on June 29 and 30 to become the first Royals duo to hit back-to-back home runs in consecutive games since Hal McRae and Willie Aikens (May 16-17, 1981 at Boston). Put together a career-long 14 game hitting streak from July 31-Aug. 14...hit .393 (22-for-56) during that stretch. Was named as the American League’s Co-Player of the Week with Toronto’s Kelvim Escobar for Aug. 20-26...led the league with a .500 average (12-for-24) and a .613 on-base percentage...collected a home run, a double, 2 triples, 7 runs, 9 RBI, 4 stolen bases and a .833 slugging percentage in 7 games. Earned back-to-back Royals Player of the Month honors for August and September in a vote by local media...he hit .373 with 3 home runs and 18 RBI in August and hit .330 in September, leading the club in 8 offensive categories.
Matched a career-high with a 3 4-hit games, 2 coming vs. Detroit...went 4-for-4 vs. the Tigers on June 27 with 2 stolen bases in the game...went 4-for-5 at Detroit on Oct. 6 in game 1 of a doubleheader (8th career 4-hit game)...finished the day 6-for-9, falling a hit shy of the club’s record for total hits in a doubleheader (7 by George Brett, Aug. 10, 1990 and Gerald Perry, July 14, 1990). Recorded his other 4-hit game at Anaheim on Sept. 6...doubled, homered, scored 2 runs and finished with 4 RBI. Was a part of a 3 homer inning off Detroit’s Nate Cornejo at Kauffman Stadium on Sept. 27. Batted .341 in 84 games in the 3rd spot of the batting order...hit at a .248 clip in 33 games as the leadoff hitter. Hit .343 against the American League Central teams, amassing 97 hits in 283 at bats with 14 home runs and 54 RBI in 72 games...hit .413 in 19 games against the Tigers, going 31-for-75 with 5 doubles, 2 triples, 6 home runs and 20 RBI.
Career Notes
Beltran owns a .287 career batting average, hitting at a .283 clip against right-handed pitchers and batting .301 against left-handers. Has recorded a pair of 100-run, 100-RBI seasons in 3 Major League seasons. In 1999, he joined Lou Piniella (1969) and Bob Hamelin (1994) as the only Royals to win American League Rookie of the Year honors.
Personal:
Carlos Ivan Beltran married the former Jessica Lugo just 3 days prior to being named the 1999 American League Rookie of the Year. Graduated from Fernando Callejas High in Puerto Rico in 1995. Supports youth educational programs in Puerto Rico and is an instructor for the Royals Youth Instructional Clinics. Joined several of his teammates at the “Gloves for Kids” event last season, which benefited children involved with the RBI (Reviving Baseball in the Inner Cities) program.

Other Carlos Beltran Sites:

http://baseball.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=6132

http://www.baseball-reference.com/b/beltrca01.shtml

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/mlb/players/14980/index.html

http://bigleaguers.yahoo.com/mlb/players/6/6132