The Hall of Fame announced this evening that Carlos Beltrán again Andrew Jones were elected to the Hall of Fame. They will be brought into Cooperstown on the side Jeff Kentchosen by the Era Committee, next June.
Beltrán receives the honor in his fourth year on the ballot. The switch hitter was the only player to fall between 70% and 75% of last year’s poll. His good lines have made him a near lock to surpass the 75% mark this winter.
The Royals drafted Beltrán, a native of Puerto Rico, in the second round in 1995. He reached the majors as a September call-up three years later and was ranked as one of the game’s top prospects entering his first full season in 1999. Scouting reports identified him as a potential five-tool center fielder, and Beltrán came to life quickly.
He hit .293/.337/.454 with 22 homers and 27 stolen bases during his debut campaign. Beltrán became the runaway choice for American League Rookie of the Year, the first of many awards he would earn over the next two decades. Injuries and a second fall limited his playing time in 2000, but Beltrán re-established himself as one of the sport’s best players the following year. He hit over .300 in two of the next three seasons, earning his first of 10 MVP honors after a .307/.389/.522 showing in 2003.
The roster around Beltrán was not as strong. Kansas City’s small-market franchise was unlikely to re-sign him, making him a top trade chip as he enters his final season in club control. The Royals dealt Beltrán, a first-time All-Star, to the Astros during the ’04 season. He appeared on the National League roster – Houston was then an NL team – and finished 12th in the NL MVP voting despite spending the first three months in the American League. Beltrán hit .258/.368/.559 with 23 homers in 90 regular season games for Houston.
His introduction to the postseason could not have been better. Beltrán hit .435 with eight homers in 12 playoff games, helping Houston to within one game of a trip to the World Series. The Astros would go on to win the pennant one year later, but Beltrán had moved on in free agency by then. He signed what was a franchise record deal with the Mets: seven years and $119MM.
Beltrán’s first season in Queens was a bit of a disappointment, but he bounced back with the best season of his career in 2006. He hit a career-best 41 home runs and drove in a career-best 116 runs with a slash line of .275/.388/.594. Beltrán earned his first Golden Glove and Silver Slugger awards while finishing fourth in the MVP voting. Baseball Reference credited him with eight wins over the all-time lead, the best mark of his career. He has remained strong in the playoffs, hitting .278 with a .422 on-base percentage over 10 games.
For the second time in three years, Beltrán’s team lost the seventh game of the NLCS battle with the Cardinals. The ’07 Mets had a major meltdown in September to lose the NL East title to the Phillies. They wouldn’t return to the playoffs during Beltrán’s tenure, but there’s no doubt they got their money’s worth from the free agent investment. Beltrán played in 839 games while hitting .280/.369/.500 with 149 homers in six and a half seasons in a Mets uniform.
The team also got a top player Zack Wheeler when they traded impending free agent Beltrán to the Giants in 2011. He played well for San Francisco, but they narrowly missed the postseason between their World Series wins in 2010 and ’12. Beltrán signed a two-year contract with the Cardinals the following year. He hit .282/.343/.493 during his time in St. Louis. Louis, but his impact was even more pronounced in the postseason. Beltrán was a great player both years, and won his first ring in his age-36 season when the Cardinals knocked off the Red Sox in 2013.
Beltrán signed a three-year contract with the Yankees for the 2013-14 season. He remained an above-average hitter during his time in the Bronx, despite the defensive value he had for most of his career. He returned to the playoffs in 2016 after dealing with the Rangers at the deadline. Beltrán ended his career on a one-year contract to return to the Astros.
The final season in Houston ended leaving Beltrán with a complicated legacy. He was reportedly a key part of a sign-stealing team that wasn’t made public until several seasons later. Beltrán wasn’t the biggest hitter on the field at age 40, but he collected a second ring when the Astros won their first title in franchise history.
Beltrán’s role in the sign-stealing scandal became public during the 2019-2020 season. He had just been hired by the Mets as manager a few months earlier. He resigned and lost his salary when the operation became public. Beltrán remains involved in the game in less important roles, working as a television analyst with the YES Network and spending the past few seasons as a special assistant in the Mets’ front office. He is also responsible for building the Puerto Rican national team roster for the upcoming World Baseball Classic.
The sign-stealing scandal likely delayed Beltrán’s entry into Cooperstown. His mathematical CV made him a very strong candidate to get on the first ballot. He finished his playing days with a .279/.350/.486 batting line. Baseball Reference valued his career at 70 WAR, which is not even counting his playoff prowess. Jay Jaffe’s JAWS metrics make him the top 10 center all-time. Whatever apprehension some voters may have had about honoring him in his first few years on the ballot, the end result is that he is headed to Cooperstown to cement his record as one of the best players to ever play the game.
More to come.
