Sharing memories of Carlos Beltran, Billy Wagner, CC Sabathia

In the latest episode of Plakata Nation, Carlos Peña, Rodney Peña and Jesus Ortiz share stories about Carlos Beltran, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner ahead of the 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame election announcement.

Sabathia, Wagner and Beltran are all trending well on public ballots from the veteran members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. On Tuesday, Jan. 21, they’ll find out if they received the required 75 percent of the votes for election into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.

Carlos Peña remembers a special notebook he received from Beltran when a young Peña was going through a slump. Although they were teammates, Beltran cared enough to give Peña a notebook full of advice.

Peña also shared a story of an appearance he made on the MLB Network with Sabathia, who had ended the slugger’s season one year with a pitch to his hand. Sabathia surprised Peña with a genuine apology.

Ortiz discussed Beltran’s legacy throughout Puerto Rico and Major League Baseball. Ortiz, who has proudly voted for Wagner all 10 years Wagner has been on the ballot, discussed Wagner’s decision to put family first.

Ortiz is one of 46 voters who voted for Wagner in his first year on the ballot. Since then, some of those voters have stopped voting. At this point, there are less than seven voters who have publicly released votes for Wagner in 10 consecutive years.

He also covered Beltran, who is tracking well this year. Rodney Peña also shared beautiful memories from a fan’s perspective.

More from Our Esquina

Carlos Beltran belongs in the Hall of Fame

Ichiro, Billy Wagner anchor Ortiz’s Hall of Fame ballot

Jesse Chavez recalls Billy Wagner’s lessons

The Plakata Nation crew also shared a special quote from Martin Luther King Jr. in honor of the upcoming MLK Day. Jesus Ortiz was excited to realize that his father had been paraphrasing that quote from MLK for years.

Carlos and Rodney Peña and Jesus Ortiz also discussed the latest in baseball’s free agent market.

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