After a great season and playoffs for the Astros, Beltran became a highly sought after free agent in 2005. The Mets signed him to a 7 year $119 million contract. At the time it was the biggest contract in the history of the Mets.
As often happens the problem with the contract was its length of time. Beltran had 4 productive seasons. He drove in over 100 runs three times. It was the last three seasons where he was overpaid. Injuries limited his playing time in those seasons. He never appeared in more than 98 games in those seasons. His home runs for those seasons were 10, 7, and 15. He never drove in more than 66 runs in any of those last three seasons. In the end $119 million for four good seasons out of seven. The last three seasons left a bitter taste in the minds of Mets fans.
Also, Mets fans remember their star in 2006 ( he hit 41 home runs), striking out looking with the bases loaded and the tying run on third in the playoffs to end their season.
