He was steps away, watching, when Endy Chavez made the catch. The one that should have sent the Mets to Detroit, en route to their first title since 1986. He could only turn and stare when Yadier Molina singlehandedly sucked the air out of Shea Stadium with one mighty swing of the bat in the ninth inning of Game 7.  And we all know where Carlos Beltran was when Adam Wainwright dropped a nasty curveball over the outside corner of the plate to facilitate a jubilous Cardinals celebration amidst the deathly silent Mets faithful. Beltran was doing the same thing we all were doing - watching. Helplessly.

Beltran went 1 for 4 on that chilly October October night, and scored the only Met run in that devastating defeat. But  the ducks on pond he left on base in the ninth is what he’ll be remembered for.  More than the three homeruns he hit that series, the cannon throw that nailed Eckstein at the plate and saved Game 1, his .396 average and 11 homeruns in the playoffs, and his two Met walk-off home runs.

As a team, the Mets have been putrid with runners in scoring position and two outs, undoubtedly the most clutch opportunity in a baseball game. Jose Reyes is hitting .211 in those situations. David Wright .175, Paul Lo Duca .171., Carlos Delgado .194 Yet these are our heroes. We don their jerseys, join their fan club websites, and bow down to their bobbleheads. Yet Carlos Beltran has never been revered, or even appreciated. This is the man who was booed before he even took a swing in 2006, the guy who is fervently trashed on talk radio the entire offseason. The player who almost turned his back on the city after they clearly showed no disdain for turning their back on him.

It was Beltran who made the catch on Saturday, charging up a hill he spent countless hours practicing on and making a diving catch with his back to home plate in order to save the game for the Mets. It was Beltran who got the game-winning single in the bottom the seventeenth that ended the excruciating stalemate and sealed a much-needed Mets victory just hours before the All-Star break. Sure, the game as critical as Game 7, and the moment not as critical as Chavez’ leaping grab, but the heroism was equivocal.

The Mets offense has been in many collective slumps this year, and Beltran has not been immune from the sickness. It was the Met offense, collectively, that cost them a World Series title last year, and a bigger lead in the National League East this year. Meanwhile, Mets fans continue to thank their lucky stars for Jose Reyes and David Wright, but vow eternal frustration with their centerfielder. 

Fans will say he is overpaid because he took the contract that was offered to him, that he doesn’t care because he runs with a gentle, graceful gait, and hits with a steady disposition. They refuse to embrace him because he shies away from the locker room microphone, and say he is soft for complaining about soreness after he runs into a wall to make another game saving catch.

 Reyes and Wright will continute to be adorned by the media, and Beltran will be content with blending in, breaking out of slumps,  gracefully diving up hills and running into walls, dominating All-Star games, and proving, as he does by the end of every season, that he is the best player on the field, offensively and defensively- whether or not the court of public opinion ever sides in his favor.

When Carlos Beltran starts his third consecutive All-Star game this year, he’ll once again be gracefully representing the city that so often yearns to chastise him.