Carlos Beltran: Texas 'more about baseball' than New York
Texas Rangers designated hitter Carlos Beltran seems to be enjoying his new digs. It’s not just the fact that he’s now playing for a winner and performing well, either. Beltran seems to enjoy the atmosphere in Texas.
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He explained as much during a radio interview on KESN recently. When asked about the differences between Texas and New York, where he spent three seasons as a member of the Yankees, Beltran spoke quite highly of his new city.
Well, you know what? Playing in Texas … it’s relaxing, man. Being here, for me, I feel so weird because playing in New York, you know, every day I feel like I talk to the media before the games, after the games, and there were like 30-40 guys in the clubhouse every single day. And here, there’s maybe four or five, and sometimes they don’t even want to talk to you.
So, for me it’s kind of weird, but they’re two different markets – even though this team is a big-market team. But at the end of the day, [in] New York there’s a lot of distractions, a lot of things going on more than baseball. Here it’s more about baseball. [Jeff] Banister is more laid-back. I think Joe Girardi has a lot of things going on in New York.
The “more about baseball” line is going to receive a lot of attention, but the full context of the quote isn’t as damning. Beltran isn’t really taking shots at the fans or the Yankees as an organization, he’s merely saying there’s a lot going on in New York.
And … he’s not wrong. Beltran had to endure two Derek Jeter’s retirement year and Alex Rodriguez’s abrupt decision to walk away from the game in his three seasons with the club. The media circus surrounding both had to be insane, and it’s easy to see how something like that could be distracting to players. That’s part of the job, sure, but there’s no doubt that stuff is magnified in a city like New York.
That doesn’t even include what happens after games. Jeter especially couldn’t go anywhere in the city without having his picture taken. Everyone wanted to know who was dating and where he was going at all times. It’s easy to see how New York can be suffocating.
It’s important to note that Beltran never mentions on-field distractions or takes shots at members of the Yankees. That’s key here. He’s not criticizing anything about the club, just pointing out the difference between the atmosphere in the two cities.
Without context the “more about baseball” quote seem suspicious, but Beltran wasn’t taking shots at his former club. Despite that, his comments might not sit well with some of the more passionate members of the Yankees’ fanbase.
(BLS H/N: CBS Sports)
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
