The Baseball Hall of Fame announced two players were elected to the Hall by the Baseball Writers Association of America Tuesday evening.
Carlos Beltrán played 20 MLB seasons with the Royals, Mets, Yankees, Cardinals, Rangers, Giants and Astros, with his most success coming with the Royals and Mets. He hit 435 home runs, had 312 stolen bases and 2,725 hits, and posted 70.0 bWAR. It should be noted that Beltrán was considered to be a prominent part of the Astros sign-stealing scandal in 2017, his final
MLB season. I am hoping the Hall will note that on his plaque. Despite the scandal, Beltrán received 84.2 percent of the BBWAA vote.
Andruw Jones played 17 big-league seasons, 12 of those with the Braves, where he became known as one of the best defensive center fielders ever, winning 10 Gold Glove Awards. He hit 434 home runs, scored 1,204 runs and had 152 stolen bases, and accumulated 62.7 bWAR. He played in two World Series (1996 — hit .400 there at age 19 — and 1999). Jones received 78.4 percent of the BBWAA vote.
Chase Utley, who was thought to be a possible inductee this year, had 59.1 percent of the vote.
These two players will join Jeff Kent, who was elected by the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee in December, and be inducted in Cooperstown this summer. The induction ceremony will take place Sunday, July 26 and will be televised live on MLB Network at 12:30 p.m. CT.
