Former outfielders Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones have been elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame as part of the 2026 class, as both players reached the 75% threshold for induction as voted
on by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA).
The duo will join second baseman Jeff Kent in the 2026 class, as Kent was selected by the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee back in December
.Both Beltrán and Jones finished just shy of making the Hall a year ago, as Beltrán received 70.3% of the vote and Jones hit 66.2%. Beltrán, now in his fourth year on the ballot, received 84.2% of the 425 ballots cast, while Jones, in his ninth year on the ballot, reached 78.4%.
Beltrán, 48, seemed like a first-ballot lock near the end of his career, but after he reportedly took a key role in the 2017 Astros’ sign-stealing scandal, he lost his managerial job with the Mets before coaching a game, and his reputation was tarnished.
Still, Beltrán finished his career with 70.0 bWAR, batting .279/.350/.486 with 435 homers, 2,725 hits, 1,587 RBIs, 1,582 runs, and 312 steals over 2,586 games during his 20-year career. He was also named AL Rookie of the Year with the Royals in 1999, and he was selected as an All-Star nine times, won a pair of Silver Sluggers, and three Gold Gloves.
Jones, also 48, had a slightly shorter career than Beltrán, playing 17 seasons from 1996 to 2012, though he still accumulated 62.7 bWAR. One of the greatest outfield gloves in baseball history, Jones won 10 Gold Gloves, a Silver Slugger, and was named an All-Star five times. For his career, he hit .254/.337/.486 with 434 homers, 2,196 hits, 1,289 RBIs, 1,204 runs, and 152 steals over 2,196 games.
Beltrán will likely enter the Hall as either a Kansas City Royal or a New York Met. He spent seven years with both clubs, starting his career in Kansas City and accumulating 24.8 bWAR there before spending 2005-2011 in New York, totaling 31.1 bWAR with the Mets. Jones will almost certainly go in as an Atlanta Brave, having spent 12 of his 17 MLB seasons in Atlanta and totaling 61.0 of his 62.7 bWAR with the Braves.
Beyond Beltrán and Jones, the only other player to break the 50% threshold was former second baseman Chase Utley, who garnered 251 votes, good for 59.1%. Andy Pettitte and Félix Hernández both fell just shy of 50%, as Pettitte received 48.5% of the vote on his eighth ballot and Hernández got 46.1% of the vote in his second year on the ballot.
Of the 12 first-year candidates, Cole Hamels is the only name to remain on the ballot entering next year, as the left-handed starter received 23.8% of the vote. Ryan Braun led the group of players who won’t return to the ballot, as he picked up 15 votes (3.5%). Former Brewer Gio González received no votes, while former closer Francisco Rodríguez received 50 votes (11.8%) and will remain on the ballot for a fifth year next time around.
Congratulations to Beltrán and Jones on joining Kent and the other 354 elected members (281 players) in the Hall this summer! The full voting results of this year’s ballot are below.
