Carlos Beltran is knocking on the door of the Baseball Hall of Fame, but he won’t be admitted in 2025.
In his third year on the ballot, the superstar outfielder, who spent 20 years in Major League Baseball, including seven with the Mets, ended up receiving 70.3 percent of the vote which was announced on Tuesday night. Seventy-five percent of the vote is required for induction.
Beltran was the close call of the night after Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner were each inducted. Beltran’s near-miss came on the heels of receiving 57.1 percent in 2024 and 46.5 percent in his debut year in 2023.
Throughout his two-decade career, which began in 1998 with the Royals, Beltran earned his reputation as one of the best switch-hitting center fielders in the game. The Puerto Rico native finished his career with 2,725 hits, 435 home runs and 1,587 RBI.
Beltran’s Hall of Fame candidacy took a hit when he was the only player named in MLB’s investigation into the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal in 2017 — the year that resulted in Beltran’s lone World Series crown of his career. The role in that investigation cost him a shot as the Mets manager in 2020 when the news broke of his involvement.
Beltran displayed a natural quickness throughout his career, allowing him to secure a trio of Gold Gloves and 312 stolen bases. The outfielder boasted an astounding 86.4 percent success rate on his stolen base attempts.
Beltran’s best years of his career were spent in a Mets uniform after he signed a seven-year, $119 million to head to Flushing ahead of the 2025 season. During his seven seasons with the Mets, Beltran slashed .280/.369/.500 with 149 home runs, 559 RBI, 551 runs, 208 doubles and 100 stolen bases.
His best campaign of his career came in 2006 when he notched career highs in home runs (41), RBI (116) and runs (127) to finish fourth in National League All-Star voting — his highest rank of his career.
The nine-time All-Star won the American League Rookie of the Year Award in 1999 with the Royals when he batted .293 and blasted 22 home runs, collected 108 RBI and scored 112 runs while stealing 27 bases.
The outfielder had success in the postseason where he slashed .307/.412/.609 with 16 home runs, 42 RBI and 45 runs in 65 games. He made two trips to the World Series and five championship series appearances. Beltran did infamously look at a called strike three on a curveball during the Cardinals NLCS-clinching Game 7 win in 2006.
Beltran joined the Mets front office as a special assistant before the 2023 season.
David Wright remains on Hall of Fame ballot
David Wright’s stature grew in the mind of Hall of Fame voters in his second season on the ballot.
One year after receiving 6.2 percent of the vote, Wright improved his numbers by inching up to 32 votes and 8.1 percent in his second season.
The former Mets captain, who will see his No. 5 retired by the team in July, spent his entire career with the franchise, receiving seven All-Star selections, two Silver Slugger Awards and two Gold Gloves.
In his career, Wright tallied 1,777 hits, including 242 home runs, 970 RBI and 949 runs. The third baseman’s Hall of Fame case was hurt in the tail end of his career which was largely spent on the sidelines due to neck and back injuries.
