The New York Mets may be playing out the string on a disappointing 2026 season, but Saturday afternoon at Citi Field was about considerably more than the standings. On a day when the franchise officially retired Carlos Beltrán’s No. 15 and inducted the newly minted Baseball Hall of Famer into the Mets Hall of Fame, the Amazins gave their former center fielder a fitting salute on the field, defeating the Philadelphia Phillies 10-3 in what could also prove to be legendary radio voice Howie Rose’s final game behind the microphone at Citi Field.
Before first pitch, the focus belonged to Beltrán. The Mets honored one of the most complete players in franchise history with an on-field ceremony that placed No. 15 permanently alongside the other immortals in the Citi Field rafters. Beltrán, who spent six-and-a-half seasons in Queens from 2005 through 2011, was joined by his family and members of the Mets Hall of Fame as the organization celebrated a relationship that has come full circle.
“I would say it was my best years in baseball,” Beltrán said of his time with the Mets. Beltrán hit 149 home runs as a Met while producing 31.1 bWAR, more than he accumulated with any of the other six organizations he represented during his 20-year Major League career. His No. 15 now hangs alongside the numbers of Mets legends including Tom Seaver, Mike Piazza, David Wright, Keith Hernandez, Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry.
Once the ceremony ended, the current Mets made sure the afternoon did not become merely a history lesson. Carson Benge got New York started with a solo home run in the second inning, but Philadelphia eventually grabbed a 3-1 advantage. Then Francisco Alvarez changed the game with one swing. With two runners aboard in the bottom of the fifth, Alvarez launched a three-run homer off Phillies starter Andrew Painter, his 16th of the season, putting the Mets ahead 4-3. They never looked back.
Benge had his own piece of Mets history to make. The rookie went 3-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs, recording his 156th hit of the season to surpass Pete Alonso for the most hits by a rookie in Mets history. But there was another layer of history unfolding inside Citi Field. Howie Rose, who emceed Beltrán’s ceremony before calling the game on Mets Radio 880, could have called his final game from the ballpark. The lifelong Mets fan and Queens native is retiring after the 2026 season, ending a relationship with the organization that began in 1987.
After Tobias Myers recorded the final out, Rose delivered one more familiar declaration: “Put it in the books!” For one September afternoon in Queens, generations of Mets history intersected, leaving fans with a memory that will last a lifetime.
