COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. - Few Baseball Hall of Famers have waited longer than Carlos Beltran, Andruw Jones and Jeff Kent to feel like rookies one more time.
"This is the closest thing to my first at-bat in the big leagues," Beltran said as he opened his speech Sunday afternoon. "Where I feel excited to be here, but at the same time, I feel very nervous."
It's finally time to relax for Beltran, Jones and Kent, whose collective patience was rewarded when they were officially enshrined in front of an estimated
crowd of 12,000 on a sun-splashed day at the Clark Sports Center in this bucolic upstate town.
A record 60 living Hall of Famers attended the ceremony, with the 57 already inducted sitting on the stage behind the trio of new inductees, who increase the Hall's membership to 354 people.
Beltran was elected by the Baseball Writers Association of America in his fourth year on the ballot while Jones earned enshrinement in his ninth year of eligibility.
"This is a day we're not going to forget," Jones said. "I feel like a rookie today."
Kent, who never received more than 46.5% of the vote during his 10 years on the writers' ballot from 2014 through 2023, was elected by the contemporary baseball era committee last December.
"Johnny Bench, he told it to me this morning before we got on the bus that ‘You belong, you belong,'" Kent said. "It hasn't hit me yet."
The trio delivered speeches touching on the international flavor of the day and the long paths they took to baseball immortality.
Kent, a 20th-round pick of the Toronto Blue Jays out of Cal in 1989, hit 351 of his 377 homers while playing second base, the most ever by someone at that position. He recalled growing up racing motorcycles as a teenager before his dad offered to buy him a pickup truck if he earned a college scholarship to play baseball.
"That truck is still with me. It sits in my garage as a simple reminder that some of the simplest things ..." Kent said before pausing. "The simplest things can change the entire direction of your life."
Kent hit .274 with 78 homers and a .777 OPS for the Blue Jays, New York Mets and Cleveland from 1992 through 1996 before emerging as a star with the San Francisco Giants. The infielder hit .297 with 175 homers and a .903 OPS and won the 2000 National League Most Valuable Player award during his six seasons in the Bay Area.
"San Francisco was home," Kent said. "San Francisco was where every lesson I've learned finally came together."
Jones, who signed with the Atlanta Braves out of Curacao for $46,000 as a 16-year-old in 1993, mentioned his 16 fellow Curacao natives who have reached the majors as the first player from Curacao to make the Hall of Fame.
Jones' .254 average is the second-lowest of any Hall of Fame position player while his 1,933 hits are the fewest for a Hall of Famer who began his career after 1970. But the election of Jones -- who averaged 33 homers and over 100 RBIs per season while winning 10 Gold Gloves over 12 seasons with the Braves from 1996-2007 -- symbolizes the growing emphasis on rewarding a player's peak instead of his longevity.
He is the eighth member of the Braves' NL East dynasty to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, joining former teammates Tom Glavine, Chipper Jones, Greg Maddux, Fred McGriff and John Smoltz as well as executive John Schuerholz and manager Bobby Cox.
"Hitting home runs is great but I took a lot of pride in my defense, because that was winning games," Jones said. "And the Braves won a lot of games because of pitching and defense."
Beltran, a second-round pick of the Kansas City Royals in 1995, took the stage to chants of "Puerto Rico!" in honor of his native country. The 49-year-old pulled a Puerto Rican flag from his jacket pocket early in his speech.
Beltran ranks fourth amongst switch-hitters with 435 home runs, behind Hall of Famers Mickey Mantle. Eddie Murray and Chipper Jones. He is also one of just three centerfielders with at least 400 homers and 300 stolen bases along with Hall of Famers Willie Mays and Andre Dawson.
The four-year Hall of Fame wait was likely due to Beltran's role as the lone active player named in the report on the sign-stealing 2017 Houston Astros, which cost him his job as the New York Mets manager before he skippered a game in 2020.
Beltran entered the Hall sporting a Mets hat on his plaque. He hit .280 with 149 homers, 559 RBIs, 100 stolen bases and three Gold Gloves in 6 1/2 seasons with the club, with whom he is a special assistant to president of baseball operations David Stearns.
"Every organization shapes your career -- New York shaped my life," Beltran said. "The Mets cap, what it represents to me is growth and it represents the place where I became the best version of myself."
The leading newcomer on next year's ballot is catcher Buster Posey, who hit .302 and won an MVP while helping the Giants to three championships during his 12-year career. Former Philadelphia Phillies star Chase Utley, who received 59.1% of the vote in his third year on the ballot, is the top returnee.
Former Giants managers Dusty Baker and Bruce Bochy are also strong candidates to be elected via the contemporary baseball era non-players committee, which is slated to meet in December.
--Jerry Beach, Field Level Media
