On Monday morning, the New York Mets introduced Carlos Beltrán as the team’s new manager. General manager Brodie Van Wagenen spoke about Beltrán’s poise and character as well as being a trustworthy coach. BVW also mentioned that Beltrán will act as a player’s manager and says he will have “instant relatability” within the clubhouse. “We brought Carlos in to be a winner”, added the general manager.

Brodie Van Wagenen also added that he was a season-ticket holder during Beltrán’s New York Mets career.

Beltrán told the media, “I feel thankful for this opportunity… I feel blessed to stand here in front of you as the New York Mets manager.” Beltrán went on to thank ownership as well as Brodie Van Wagenen and of course, his family especially.

“I want to become a manager that motivates my players to play at a high level. I want to be a manager that brings [positivity] to the clubhouse, a positive environment that allows [players] to show up every single day with the mentality to win ballgames. I did that as a player, I took a lot of pride into being a good teammate. Being a manager won’t change [that] at all… I can’t wait to rewrite our story”, the new manager added.

Beltrán began to get emotional as he spoke in Spanish to the people back in Puerto Rico and the children of his baseball academy in his home country.

He went on to say that he plans to get in touch with most of the players before pitchers and catchers report to spring training.

Beltrán has spent parts of seven seasons with the Mets before being traded to the San Francisco Giants for then Single-A pitching prospect Zack Wheeler.

Beltrán hit .280/.369/.500/.869 with 208 doubles, 17 triples, 149 home runs with 559 RBI’s and 100 stolen bases to top it off. Beltran’s defense has definitely not gone unrecognized as he’s also won 3 Gold Gloves in his tenure in Flushing, Queens.

While no decision has been officially announced and this is PURELY SPECULATION, rumor has it that Beltran would like to have Terry Collins in the dugout as a bench coach. A move he would’ve likely made when Beltrán was close to landing the managerial position with the Yankees.

Also read: Baseball America’s Top 10 Mets Prospects