Brodie Van Wagenen looked very sharp in his $1,000 or so suit. Carlos Beltran was wearing the uniform that’s still a trigger for longtime Mets fans. Just seeing him there gave me mixed emotions but I listened, and this is what I heard on the Mets Instagram account.

BVW talked about the “authenticity and sincerity and communication with players” that Beltran seems to have. Ok, that’s an important part of the job for sure.

Another big statement from BVW was “what Carlos’ leadership brings to the team and the organization.” Sounds great, but Mets fans have never seen that out of this man. Numbers aside, he was a player who blended in a lot. Has he changed? I thought players were either born leaders or not?

Beltran mentioned that “he has a lot of mentors out there”. Great, how many will be traveling with the team? Otherwise, they will be getting just his side of the story and you can’t grow from that.

Carlos will be a players’ manager for sure. That’s great. Robby Cano can feel terrific about cashing his check and hitting .256 and hitting 13-17 home runs and losing some range in the field.

Will he hold players accountable, like Cano when he doesn’t hustle? Will he make excuses for them when the fans are critical? Will Zack Wheeler be his first phone call to try and talk him into staying with the team even if it’s for one more year based on accepting a qualifying offer?

Beltran is the great unknown. Will he have a style, or will he just do as the front office wishes? I still think Joe Espada was a better choice and the Mets didn’t even interview him. He’s now a finalist for the Giants job.

Mets fans have to hope. Hope that it works out. Hope that they upgrade the team. The team has to hope fans show up. It’s a two-way street.