Carlos Beltran honors parents, Puerto Rico in Hall speech

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. – Before Carlos Beltran could start his National Baseball Hall of Fame induction speech, many in the crowd at Clark Sports Center began waving Puerto Rican flags and chanting Sunday afternoon.

“Yo soy Boricua, ‘pa’que tu lo sepas! Yo soy Boricua, ‘pa’que tu lo sepas!”

(I’m Boricua, so you know it! I’m Boricua so you know it!)

Beltran was made to feel at home by a large portion of the estimated crowd of 12,000 who watched as he, Jeff Kent and Andruw Jones were inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday. 

Proud Boricua

Beltran took great pride in the love he received from his fellow Puerto Ricans in the crowd. He’s proud to have become the sixth native of Puerto Rico in the Hall of Fame, following Roberto Clemente, Orlando Cepeda, Roberto Alomar Jr., Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez and Edgar Martinez.

“I feel happy to be next to those legends,” Beltran said of the Puerto Rican Hall of Famers. “As you mention, it’s a special group who did big things for Puerto Rico, big things for baseball, starting with Roberto Clemente.

“I think it means a lot that throughout history you can see that perhaps Roberto inspired Cepeda, Cepeda inspired Roberto (Alomar), Roberto inspired Ivan. Then when you come to see it, a chain of Puerto Rican players has formed. And they also inspired me. So I think it’s beautiful. I feel proud, privileged and blessed.”

Beltran devoted much of his induction speech to paying tribute to his family, his island and his beloved fellow Boricuas. He devoted pieces of his speech to each of the seven teams he represented during his 20 seasons in the majors. 

More from Our Esquina

Carlos Beltran will go into Hall with Mets’ cap on plaque

Carlos Beltran elected to Baseball Hall of Fame

Yordan Alvarez highlights the Year of the Cuban in MLB

From the first seven years of his career with the Kansas City Royals to the Astros, Mets, Giants, Cardinals, Yankees and Rangers. He enters the Hall with a Mets cap on his plaque, representing the team he represented for parts of seven seasons. The most moving parts of his speech, however, were devoted to his parents and his wife Jessica.

“This is the difficult part, guys,” Beltran said as he turned his attention to his parents, Wilfredo and Carmen.

La Mudanza line 

“Papi and Mami, blessings,” he said in Spanish. “Thank you for giving it all for us to make sure we grew up in a home with a lot of love and kindness. After each correction that you made, I know there was always a lot of love. As one of our best artists says, ‘One round of applause for mom and dad because they truly crushed it.”

That line was part of superstar rapper Bad Bunny’s hit La Mudanza, and it clearly went over well with the crowd. 

Forever enshrined 🐐@carlosbeltran15 | #LGM pic.twitter.com/9PfsoWmjXT

— New York Mets (@Mets) July 26, 2026

Kent was joined at the induction by his parents, wife Jessica and their three children – Ivana, Kiara and Ivan. His siblings and many nieces, nephews and friends from his hometown of Manati were in attendance. 

“Next to this plaque, I see a God who never stopped showing me grace throughout my career,” he said. “I see my parents, who gave me their best. I see my brothers, my family, my whole family. I see my children.

“When I see this plaque, I see you, Jessica, who never stopped believing in me. I see my coaches, I see my teammates, I see my fans, my Little League coaches. I see the students of the Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy in Puerto Rico pursuing their dreams through education and baseball. I see my island, Puerto Rico.”