Beltran's visit to Harlem RBI center

Chris Girandola at Mets.com writes about Carlos Beltran and his visit to the Harlem RBI center:

The excited youngster, dressed in his blue Harlem RBI Toros uniform and hat, grinned from ear to ear and celebrated, throwing his hand up and out to his 12 teammates, and said, "He touched my hand, he touched my hand!"

Glowing, Carter gazed up at the Mets superstar as Beltran shook hands or gave five to the rest of the Toros. The young baseball player, who held his right hand with his left hand as if it had been turned to gold, admired Beltran, eyes wide open, for the next 15 minutes as the Mets outfielder addressed the class.

Carter's reaction and response from Beltran's appearance is part of what the Harlem RBI's REAL (Reading and Enrichment Academy for Learning) program has set out to do. REAL Kids, a literacy, baseball and arts program for 240 9- to 12-year-olds in East Harlem, has anointed Beltran as its honorary commissioner. With that, REAL has introduced its students to a person who is committed to having an impact across the board just as much as he touched Carter's heart.

"Being a big-league player has allowed me to give back to the community, and I'm thrilled to be a part of this program," said Beltran, who has pledged to contribute $500 for every RBI he hits this season to the Harlem RBI REAL program. "When you see these kids smiling and you realize the impact you have, you think about the opportunity you create for them. It makes you feel good that you can have an effect on kids' lives. It's special to be able to help and create opportunities we didn't have at home."