Baseball Hall of Fame adds 2 outfielders to Cooperstown, including one tied to Astros' scandal

Carlos Beltran and Andruw Jones, who combined to hit 869 home runs (Beltran hit 435, Jones hit 434), were both elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday.

In his fourth year on the ballot, Beltran received 75% of the votes needed to be inducted into Cooperstown, finishing with the highest percentage (84.2%) among possible inductees. 

Jones had to wait nine years, but it was worth it. He finished with 78.4% of votes, coming down to the wire to get into Cooperstown and not have to sweat out his 10th and final year on the ballot in 2027.

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New York Mets fans’ core memory of Beltran is his strikeout to end the 2006 National League Championship Series, but the nine-time All-Star was a consistent force throughout his entire career. He even made the Midsummer Classic in his second-to-last season, when he hit .295 with an .850 OPS, 35 home runs and 101 RBIs.

Beltran, a switch-hitter, won three Gold Glove Awards while accumulating 2,725 hits, 435 of which were home runs. He also stole 300 bases in his career, making him one of just eight players in MLB history to be in the 300-300 club. Beltran has the fourth-most home runs by a switch-hitter, trailing Mickey Mantle, Eddie Murray and Chipper Jones.

He is also one of 39 players to both drive in and score at least 1,500 runs. Thirty-two of those players, including Beltran, are in the Hall of Fame — the other seven that aren’t are either tied to performance-enhancing drugs (Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Rafael Palmeiro, Gary Sheffield, Manny Ramirez) or are not yet eligible for the Hall of Fame (Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera). In 65 postseason games, he hit .307 with a 1.021 OPS. Beltran spent seven seasons with both the Mets and Royals and put up nearly identical stats, so it remains to be seen what hat he will wear on his plaque.

While the numbers scream Hall of Fame, it became clear that voters were giving him a self-imposed punishment for his involvement in the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal. Beltran, who won his lone World Series with that tainted Houston team in his final MLB season, has been considered a mastermind of the scheme, which cost him his job as New York Mets manager in 2020 before he managed a game. Beltran was the only player on the team directly named by MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred when announcing punishments for the organization.

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As for Jones, the Curaçao native is one of four players with 400 home runs and 10 Gold Glove Awards, along with Willie Mays, Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Schmidt. Jones led the majors with 51 home runs in 2005, finishing just short of the MVP Award to Albert Pujols.

A five-time All-Star, the outfielder spent 12 of his 17 MLB seasons with the Atlanta Braves and played in 76 postseason games. 

The duo, along with Jeff Kent, will be formally inducted into Cooperstown in July. Kent was elected by the Contemporary Baseball Era committee in December. 

Looking at the rest of the voting, second baseman Chase Utley received 59.1% of votes in his first year on the ballot. That was the highest percentage underneath Jones. 

Andy Pettitte (48.5%, 8th year) and Alex Rodriguez (40%, 5th year) both fell short again despite their career numbers. They have been linked to performance-enhancing drugs during their careers.

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