Carlos Beltran, Andruw Jones elected to Baseball Hall of Fame

The center-field roster of the Baseball Hall of Fame grew deeper Tuesday with the announcement that Carlos Beltran and Andruw Jones were selected for induction.

Beltran was elected in his fourth year of eligibility after being named on 84.2% of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) ballots, easily clearing the 75% threshold for enshrinement. Jones was named on 78.4% of the ballots, just clearing the bar to earn election in his ninth and second-to-last year of eligibility.

Beltran and Jones join Jeff Kent, who was elected in December in the contemporary era committee voting, in the Class of 2026.

Beltran, a nine-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove winner, hit .279 during his 20-year career with 2,725 hits, 435 homers, 1,582 runs and 312 stolen bases. He is one of four players to reach 2,700 hits, 400 homers, 1,500 runs and 300 steals, joining Barry Bonds, Willie Mays and Alex Rodriguez.

Beltran becomes the fifth player born in Puerto Rico to be elected to the Hall, not including Edgar Martinez, who was born in New York but grew up and attended high school on the island.

“Today, my life really has changed, just being able to be named a Hall of Famer and what it really means to me, to Puerto Rico, to our family, to our project in Puerto Rico promoting baseball,” said Beltran, who now runs a baseball academy there.

Beltran, the 1999 AL Rookie of the Year with Kansas City, probably would have been elected during his first year or two of eligibility if not for his association with the Houston Astros‘ sign-stealing scandal dating to their 2017 World Series-winning club. His election surely bodes well for other members of that squad who will eventually arrive on the ballot, such as Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, Carlos Correa and George Springer.

“I still receive love from the players, the teammates that I had inside the clubhouse,” Beltran said. “They know the type of person that I am, but at the same time, I understand that that’s also a story that I have to deal with.”

Jones will become the first player born in Curacao to be inducted. Best remembered for the legendary defensive prowess he displayed during the first decade of his career, Jones is one of only six outfielders to win 10 or more Gold Gloves. He hit .254 with 434 homers during his 17 seasons in the majors.

“I mean, we grew up playing baseball so much down there, that’s all we knew since we grew up — we wanted to play baseball,” Jones said. “[To be] the first player to make it from Curacao, it’s a great honor. And I know we’re going to have more people coming.”

Jones burst onto the scene in 2006, when at age 19 he homered twice in Game 1 of the 1996 World Series for the Atlanta Braves against New York at Yankee Stadium. Jones’ candidacy built slowly during his years of eligibility, growing from 7.3% in his first season to eventual enshrinement, the lowest starting mark for an eventual enshrinee.

Likely holding back Jones’ HOF candidacy in the early years of the process was the decline he displayed after his age-30 season, and domestic violence charges filed against him in 2012, a couple of months after he played in his last big league game. He pleaded guilty to the charges and was fined and went on to play two seasons in Japan.

“This is going to be a great moment to actually be on the stage with those guys that you idolize, those guys that you grew up watching, guys that you compete with,” Jones said. “Then enjoying that moment, when you get that chance to be on the elite level.”

This year will mark the first time that two career center fielders will be inducted on the same day. Jones shared that Beltran called him after they received their respective calls Tuesday to celebrate.

The biggest gainers over last year’s balloting were a pair of pitchers. Felix Hernandez was named on 46.1% of the ballots in his second year of eligibility, a 25.5% leap over last year.

Meanwhile, Yankees and Astros great Andy Pettitte, a 256-game winner whose candidacy has dragged because of admissions that he used HGH, was named on 48.5% of ballots, a 20.6% uptick from the last voting cycle. Pettitte has two more years of eligibility remaining in the BBWAA balloting.

The leading first-time eligible player was Phillies left-hander Cole Hamels, who was named on 23.8% of the ballots. Meanwhile, Brewers third baseman/outfielder Ryan Braun, the 2011 NL MVP who was later suspended for PED use, was named on only 3.5% of ballots, shy of the 5% minimum needed to carry over to next year.

The Hall of Fame’s induction ceremony will take place on July 26 on the grounds of the Clark Sports Center in Cooperstown, New York.