Carlos Beltran has been there before.
On July 28, 2005, he returned to Houston for the first time after leaving the Astros as a free agent for the Mets.
He was booed relentlessly by Astros fans, both at the plate and when he was in center.
Afterward, he said, “It’s hard to block out the boos. It’s hard to block out all that.”
Carlos Beltran, who is currently serving as a special assistant to Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns, understands the situation Juan Soto is facing as he returns to The Bronx with the Mets this weekend.
“Nobody likes to hear boos,” Beltran shared with The Post before the Mets’ 3-2 victory on Saturday. “But it comes with the territory. This is a player who delivered an outstanding performance for the Yankees last year and was a valuable contributor to the team. Then as a free agent, he chose to sign with the Mets. I think he anticipated this reception as well.”
Beltran compared Soto’s experience to his own first year with the Mets after playing briefly with the Astros, following a trade from Kansas City in 2004.
But Beltran dominated the postseason with the Astros, who then saw him go to Queens.
“When I went back to Houston that first time, I never heard a player being booed the way I was booed,’’ Beltran said Saturday with a laugh. “But you have to go with the ride and try not to let that affect your performance or preparation. Sometimes you can get caught up in trying to do too much. I think Soto did a great job [Friday].”
Beltran noted how Soto “saluted the fans” with his sarcastic tipping of his helmet when nearly the entire stadium stood and booed.
“That was great,’’ Beltran said. “It is part of baseball and you’ve got to deal with it.”
Though the fans have been loud and relentless, they’ve been relatively well-behaved.
“No one was disrespectful,’’ Beltran said. “It’s what being a fan is about: expressing home field and giving your team an advantage. I don’t think it’s personal.”
Beltran said Reggie Jackson repeated his famous comment, “They don’t boo [nobodies],” to him.
“He told me to take it as a good thing,” Beltran said.
Soto seems to have a similar attitude.
He ended up walking three times in the Mets’ loss Friday.
“He had good at-bats,’’ Beltran said. “That can be hard if you let it bother you.”
It was more of the same Saturday, as Soto walked, singled and scored a run.
On Saturday, there were more Mets fans in attendance than Friday, but the boos were still noisy enough that Clarke Schmidt said he had to turn up the volume on his PitchCom.
Schmidt called the fans’ reaction “to be expected.’’
“He was a lot of fun to play with, but given the circumstances, you were expecting a boo there,’’ the right-hander said.
