Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones have been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, joining Jeff Kent as the newest inductees. This marks a significant moment for Beltrán, who expressed his excitement, saying, 'Today I can say that I’m a Hall of Famer.' The ceremony will take place on July 26, 2025. Beltrán and Jones are the first center fielders elected since Ken Griffey Jr. in 2016, with Kirby Puckett being the previous one in 2001.
Beltrán's career was illustrious, with a .279 batting average, .837 OPS, 435 home runs, and 312 steals over 20 years. He was a nine-time All-Star, earning three Gold Gloves and the American League Rookie of the Year in 1999. However, his career took a controversial turn when he was implicated in the 2017 Astros sign-stealing scandal, leading to his firing from the Mets in January 2020. Despite this, he received only 46.5% of the votes in his first Hall of Fame ballot appearance in 2023.
Jones, on the other hand, had a remarkable career as well, with 434 home runs over 17 seasons and a .850 OPS through 11 seasons. However, his career batting average of .254 is the lowest for a Hall of Famer voted in by the BBWAA. Jones received only 7.3% of the vote in his first year on the ballot, the lowest for a player eventually elected by the BWAA since 1966, but he climbed to 333 votes this year.
Both Beltrán and Jones are switch hitters, with Beltrán being the only one with at least 2,700 hits and 425 home runs. They join an elite group of players, including Barry Bonds, Andre Dawson, Willie Mays, and Alex Rodriguez, who have at least 425 homers and 300 stolen bases. The voting results also showed positive trends for Dustin Pedroia and Chase Utley, with significant gains in their votes, while Manny Ramirez's career came to an end with only 38.8% of the votes in his final year on the ballot.
