Carlos Beltran elected to Baseball Hall of Fame

Carlos Beltran, one of the best center fielders of his era, was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday. The pride of Manati, Puerto Rico, was elected in his fourth year on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America ballot.

Beltran, 48, is the sixth Puerto Rican elected to the Hall of Fame. He follows fellow Boricuas Roberto Clemente, Orlando Cepeda, Roberto Alomar, Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez and Edgar Martinez to Cooperstown, N.Y.

“Today I can say I’m a Hall of Famer,” Beltran said. “I’m excited about that.”

Center fielder Andruw Jones also was voted into the Hall’s Class of 2026 by veteran members of the BBWAA. They will be joined by Beltran’s former Astros teammate Jeff Kent, who was elected by a special Era Committee.

“I want to send my congratulations on being elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame class,” Kent said of Beltran. “I’m proud of you. I know your family is proud of you, and I can’t wait until you and I meet up again in Cooperstown where we’ll be inducted into the most prestigious class in all of sports – the Baseball Hall of Fame.

“Good luck my brother. I look forward to seeing you in July.”

The induction will be held on July 26 in Cooperstown. Beltran, the 1999 American League Rookie of the Year with the Kansas City Royals, was a nine-time All-Star.

Puerto Rican legend

He was one of the most feared switch-hitters for two decades. The three-time Gold Glove winner ranked with Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. and Andruw Jones among the best center fielders of their time.

“You don’t play this game to be a Hall of Famer,” Jones said. “You play to help your team win a championship. And when you go out there and be consistent and put up numbers and then your name starts popping up (in Hall of Fame consideration) it’s a big honor for me, and it’s a big honor for my family.”

Off the field, Carlos Beltran was one of baseball’s top humanitarians. He won the 2013 Roberto Clemente Award, which is baseball’s top humanitarian award. Beltran was also considered one of the top Latino leaders in baseball, whether on the field or with the Major League Baseball Players’ Association.

“There’s no doubt that today my life has really changed,” Beltran said. “Just to be named to the Hall of Fame, what this means to me, to Puerto Rico, to our family, to our projects in Puerto Rico promoting baseball, the Carlos Beltrán Baseball Academy.”

He also was the face of multiple Puerto Rican World Baseball Classic squads.

Beltran finished his career with 2,725 career hits, 435 home runs, 1,587 RBIs and 312 stolen bases. He played with the Royals, Houston Astros, New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals, Yankees and Texas Rangers.

Beltran had a career .279 batting average with a .350 on-base percentage. He also had a .487 slugging percentage and .836 OPS. 

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Only five other players in history have accumulated 2,500 hits, 300 home runs and 300 stolen bases. Carlos Beltran finished his career in 2017 while helping the Astros win their first World Series title during his second stint in Houston.

Delayed, not denied

His first stint in Houston was in 2004. He had one of the most magical postseason displays in baseball history in 2004 after arriving via trade from Kansas City at the trade deadline. His second stint in Houston ended with a title, but the cheating scandal from that season delayed his election to the Hall of Fame.

Carlos Beltran was the only player named in Commissioner Rob Manfred’s report on the Astros’ scandal. Manfred suspended Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow, manager AJ Hinch and former Astros bench coach Alex Cora for the 2020 season. Beltran admitted that the Astros crossed the line.

He wasn’t suspended for the cheating scandal. Beltran was definitely punished in the court of public opinion, though. He lost his job as manager of the Mets without ever managing a game.

Beltran’s Hall of Fame support suffered in his first two years on the ballot. He received only 181 votes in his first year on the ballot in 2023 for only 46.5 percent, falling way short of the required 75 percent threshold for election.

His support jumped to 220 (57.1) in 2024. Then he received 277 votes for 70.3 percent in his third year on the ballot before finally getting in this year. Now, he’ll prepare for the 2026 Hall of Fame induction.