New YES Network Yankees analyst Carlos Beltran will be the subject of a special presentation of Centerstage with Michal Kay. The episode premieres Monday, April 4 at 12 pm ET and features Beltran talking for the first time publicly about the Astros’ controversial 2017 World Series title. Below you will find a selection of excerpts from the show.
Where did the Astros cross the line in 2017?
Beltran: Well, Michael, looking back now, yes, we did cross the line.
We all did what we did. Looking back today, we were wrong. I wish I would've asked more questions about what we were doing. I wish the organization would've said to us, “Hey man, what you guys are doing, we need to stop this.”
Nobody really said anything. We're winning, you know, and some days our system really worked. Some days (it) didn't really work…but we had a good team, Michael. We had such a good team.
The setup at Minute Maid Park
Beltran: We felt that when teams are coming to our ballpark (Minute Maid Park), we felt that some teams have something going on. So we felt that we needed to create our own (system), you know, and that's what happened.
Well, think about this. Every team in baseball have their video room, almost every team, has their video room next to the dugout. Our video room in Houston was in the clubhouse. So we needed to run there to see our at-bats…
So we felt why we don't have our video room next to our dugout? Now, all of sudden we got our video room next to our dugout and it's easy…simple. We had a feed that was good for us, you know?
We’re seeing the game…you get to see the pitchers, you get to see the catchers. And then we felt that we could use that, you know, but we didn't feel that we were really crossing the line there. We didn't feel we were really crossing the line.
We felt in our hearts that we were being more efficient and smarter than any team out there. That’s how we felt.
Teams, including the Astros, received a directive from MLB in Fall 2017.
Beltran: Well, if they (the Astros front office) got the letter (from MLB), they knew, but they never shared it with us. Nobody said anything to us, you know, nobody said anything. I wish somebody would've said something. A lot of people always ask me why you didn't stop it. And my answer is, I didn't stop it the same way no one stopped it. This is working for us. Why you gonna stop something that is working for you? So, if the organization would've said something to us, we would've stopped it for sure.
Did Beltran cooperate with MLB’s investigation, and his thoughts on his being named.
**Beltran:**A hundred percent. The part that bothered me about that is that, you know, when I sit down to cooperate with them (MLB), they said to me, “We're not going against the players. We're going against …field personnel, front office and organization.” And the fact that I'm the only player named in that report? So how…that happen? Like, that's the part that I don't understand. Everyone gets immunity except Carlos Beltran? I don't get it.
Is there a stain on the Astros’ 2017 World Series championship?
Beltran: Yeah, there is because, you know what we did, and we all have taken responsibility and at some point we all have shown remorse about what we did.