Carlos Beltran did not need to wait four years to get his call into the Baseball Hall of Fame, which he finally received on Tuesday night.
One of the most dynamic and explosive center fielders in the history of the game, the former Mets superstar’s blend of power, composure, and speed made him a once-in-a-generation talent.
A nine-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove winner, Beltran hit 435 home runs, stole 312 bases, and recorded 2,725 hits. He is one of just four players in MLB history with at least 1,500 runs scored, 2,700 hits, 400 home runs, and 300 steals, joining Barry Bonds, Willie Mays, and Alex Rodriguez.
Like Bonds and Rodriguez, though, there is a blemish on his resume, albeit one he was able to overcome, unlike the PED connections the other two have been saddled with.
In 2019, two years after retiring as a World Series champion with the Astros in 2017 — and just weeks after being named manager of the Mets — it was revealed that Beltran was the mastermind of Houston’s sign-stealing scandal that aided their first-ever championship in 2017.
A video camera placed in center field was used to steal the opposing catcher’s signs, which were then relayed to a staffer in the Astros’ dugout tunnel. A trash can would then be hit a certain number of times based on the pitch that was coming.
No other players were named in Major League Baseball’s findings, as commissioner Rob Manfred guaranteed immunity to those who came forward. For as much as Beltran was the ring-leader, he was also the easiest target, having just retired.
“I feel like a lot of times there are agendas that are not positive toward my way,” Beltran said. “At the end of the day … when I look at my career and when I look at the things that I did in the game of baseball, there’s no doubt that in baseball you’re going to go through ups and downs, in life you’re going to make good decisions, so-so decisions, and also you’re going to make bad decisions.”
Beltran was quickly fired by the Mets before he managed a single game and was completely out of baseball for two years. His role in the scandal appeared to sabotage his Hall-of-Fame hopes, too. He debuted on the ballot in 2023 with just 46.5% of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America’s vote — roughly 30% below the 75% threshold needed for induction.
“When I retired from baseball, I thought that everything that I’d built in the game of baseball, meaning like relationships and the good people that I was able to relate myself with, I thought that was going to be lost,” Beltran said.
But he returned to baseball as a part-time broadcaster with the Yankees in 2021 and was then hired as a special assistant to the general manager of the Mets in 2023. He remains in that position to this day, working alongside president of baseball operations David Stearns.
“Being back in the game of baseball, I still receive love from the people, I still receive love from the players,” Beltran said. “The teammates that I had inside the clubhouse, they know the type of person that I am. But at the same time, I understand that’s also a story that I have to deal with.”
All the while, his Hall-of-Fame prospects improved. He picked up 57.1% of the vote in 2024 and just narrowly missed out last year when he fell 19 votes shy of induction.
With it came clarity on how the Hall of Fame’s stewards, the writers, view this specific sort of baseball transgression. While proven PED usage is still a death sentence, there is more nuance to Beltran’s story.
This was already a bona fide Hall of Famer playing out the final chapter of a brilliant career. Having a clubhouse attendant banging on a trash can while serving as a 40-year-old role player does not detract from the 421 home runs, 536 doubles, and 2,617 hits he amassed in his first 19 years in the majors.
That was reflected on Tuesday night, when it was revealed that he garnered 84.2% of the vote. He will be officially inducted on July 26 alongside Andruw Jones and Jeff Kent.
Consider the slightly longer wait for enshrinement into the hallowed halls of Cooperstown as his penance.
“Things can happen, different scenarios can happen,” Beltran said. “I have to say I’m happy right now, I can celebrate with my family. I feel like I turned another page in my book, and I’m happy for that.”
