Beltran and Jones Elected to Hall of Fame
On Tuesday, Carlos Beltran and Andruw Jones, who collectively hit 869 home runs—435 for Beltran and 434 for Jones—were inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Beltran, in his fourth year on the ballot, secured 75% of the necessary votes for induction, achieving the highest percentage (84.2%) among all candidates. Meanwhile, Jones, who had to wait for nine years, finally made it with 78.4% of the votes, sparing him from the anxiety of a potentially tense final year on the ballot in 2027.
For many New York Mets fans, the most vivid memory of Beltran might be the strikeout that concluded the 2006 National League Championship Series. However, his career as a nine-time All-Star was filled with consistent excellence. He participated in the Midsummer Classic in his second season and finished with impressive stats: a .295 batting average, an OPS of .850, along with 35 home runs and 101 RBIs.
Beltran was a switch hitter who achieved 2,725 hits, 435 home runs, and earned three Gold Glove Awards. Notably, he is among just eight players in MLB history to record 300 stolen bases, placing him in the prestigious 300-300 club. Statistically, he ranks fourth in home runs among switch hitters, trailing only Mickey Mantle, Eddie Murray, and Chipper Jones.
Additionally, Beltran is one of only 39 players to score and drive in at least 1,500 runs, with 32 of them currently in the Hall of Fame. The rest either faced issues related to performance-enhancing drugs or are not yet eligible. Over his career, he played in 65 postseason games, maintaining a batting average of .307 and an OPS of 1.021. Interestingly, Beltran had nearly identical numbers during his seven seasons with both the Mets and the Royals, leaving some to wonder what cap he will don during his induction.
Despite these remarkable stats, it became apparent that voters were holding him accountable for his involvement in the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal. Beltran, who won a World Series with the Astros during his final season, was seen as the ringleader of this operation, costing him the managerial job with the Mets before he ever had a chance to manage a game in 2020. He was notably the only player directly named by MLB commissioner Rob Manfred during the scandal’s fallout.
As for Jones, the Curaçao native is among a select group of four players who have hit 400 home runs while also winning 10 Gold Glove Awards, alongside legends like Willie Mays and Ken Griffey Jr. He had a standout year in 2005, leading the league with 51 homers, although he narrowly missed out on the MVP award to Albert Pujols.
Jones spent 12 of his 17 MLB seasons with the Atlanta Braves, participating in 76 postseason games during that time.
The two players, along with Jeff Kent, are set to be officially inducted in Cooperstown this July. Kent was selected by the Modern Baseball Era Committee back in December.
