I, a Mets fan, ALWAYS appreciated him. His knee problems began(I think) when O Perez gave up a laser in Houston that Beltran caught crashing into the wall in LCF to save a run. He limped off the field but kept playing..I always thought that he would have been better suited as a 2 hole hitter.A great player. I am glad he is in StL where he may have less undeserved bad press.

Wow, blind squirrel.

Love me some Carlos Beltran. Guy is a natural. What's his stolen base percentage again?

He's got a pretty good shot at HOM, I think, but I'm not good at predicting these things.

He's got a pretty good shot at HOM, I think, but I'm not good at predicting these things.

Total shoo-in for the Hall of Merit. First-balloter barring a more stacked ballot than I think I'd anticipate.

Pretty much destined to join Scott Rolen, Larry Walker, Alan Trammell, Bobby Grich, and Reggie Smith on the list of underrated greats of the modern era.

Beltran is an almost perfect example of being very good at everything, and really great at nothing, which is an outstanding way to be underrated.

I suppose he's great stealing bases on a percentage basis--which is important--but he never led his league in steals or anything that makes the casual fan go "Wow!"

Pretty much destined to join Scott Rolen, Larry Walker, Alan Trammell, Bobby Grich, and Reggie Smith on the list of underrated greats of the modern era.

And maybe Kenny Lofton.

I'm still not sold on the WAR version of Kenny Lofton. I think it's possible he was that good, but I think it's more likely he was merely a solid Hall of Very Good player - in which case he is still generally underrated.

...who's a good comp for an underrated Hall of Very Good player? Bobby Abreu! I think Lofton is more Abreu than Beltran. He was way better than most of the fans realized, but I don't think his absence hurts the Hall of Fame.

Lofton, Abreu, and Beltran are very similar but not identical in their baseball skills, and they each have the sort of all-around talent, including very good on base skills, that leads to being underrated. Beltran was actually good at everything, and he was great in the field and on the bases. Lofton wasn't a good as Beltran as a hitter, because his one weakness was a lack of power. Abreu was a great match for Beltran as a hitter - he was actually a little better because he was an elite OBP hitter - but he didn't have the defensive and baserunning skills of Lofton and Beltran. Beltran was the best of the three, with the best and broadest base of skills, and Lofton and Abreu slot in behind.

Pretty much destined to join Scott Rolen, Larry Walker, Alan Trammell, Bobby Grich, and Reggie Smith on the list of underrated greats of the modern era.

Good reason not to join the Cardinals.

Good reason not to join the Cardinals.

I didn't include Jim Edmonds on the list because I think there's a chance he gets a slow burn 10-year run to the Hall of Fame. But it's possible he'll be another in the Grichpile.

I'm still not sold on the WAR version of Kenny Lofton. I think it's possible he was that good, but I think it's more likely he was merely a solid Hall of Very Good player - in which case he is still generally underrated.

I'm not sold on him yet either, but he's on the periphery of my mind as possibly a guy who as time goes on, could gather value.

Good reason not to join the Cardinals.

2 of those 5 were never Cardinals :)

I didn't include Jim Edmonds on the list because I think there's a chance he gets a slow burn 10-year run to the Hall of Fame. But it's possible he'll be another in the Grichpile.

I hate to say it, because I hate bad things happening to people that help out my "guy/team" but Andruw Jones flameout has to help strengthen Edmonds's chances. Edmonds went from being one of the best centerfielder during his prime, to probably the best thanks to Andruw not accumulating any career numbers. At one point in time it looked like Andruw was going to match Edmonds peak and then blow him away on career making him an also ran. Beltran has passed Edmonds as the best centerfielder since Griffey, but many doesn't see him having the peak that Edmonds had. (whether that is true or not, doesn't change perception)