It’s a tale of sustained excellence, peak brilliance and overdue redemption: Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones each surpassed the 75% needed for election by members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America
on Tuesday, while Jeff Kent was formally awarded his place in Cooperstown this winter by the Contemporary Era Committee. The trio will headline the Hall of Fame Class of 2026.
Kent was announced as a Hall of Fame inductee in December, finally receiving long-overdue recognition for his sterling work at second base. His 377 homers are the most all-time at second base, while his 1,518 RBI and eight 100-RBI seasons are unmatched for a player at Kent’s position. Kent was a five-time All-Star and four-time Silver Slugger Award winner who slashed .290/.356/.500 with 55.4 WAR over 17 seasons. Simply put, Kent was a generational talent who did things at second base that most didn’t think were possible.
Beltrán, meanwhile, fell just short of Cooperstown last year in his third trip on the BBWAA ballot, receiving 70.3% of the vote. But the writers have spoken this year, elevating Beltrán to the HOF with 84.2% of the vote. Beltrán appeared in 20 seasons and 2,586 games over his career, slashing .279/.350/.486 with 2,725 hits, 435 home runs, 312 stolen bases and 70 WAR. His counting numbers are all the more impressive considering he’s one of only five players in AL/NL history to post 500 doubles, 400 homers and 300 steals. Beltrán was a nine-time All-Star and won three Gold Gloves, as well as earning American League Rookie of the Year honors in 1999. What sets Beltrán apart from others, though? His resume in October. Beltrán was a different beast during postseason play, slashing .307/.412/.609 with a 1.021 OPS, which ranks among the best postseason performances ever.
Unfortunately for Beltrán, his career wasn’t all sunshine and roses as he was named in the report on the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal and admitted to using text messages to share scouting information during his tenure with Houston. After apologizing to MLB, he stepped away from baseball for several years. As time went on, it seems the writers, at least this year, decided to overlook his role in the scandal and accept his apology. Today, he serves as the Mets’ special assistant to the president of baseball operations, David Stearns.
The eventual election of Jones is just one of the many reasons that Hall of Fame voting can change drastically over time. He surpassed the 75% mark this year in his ninth year on the ballot, eventually landing at 78.4%. It wasn’t always pretty for Jones, who came alarmingly close to falling off the ballot in his first year of eligibility after recording just 7.3% of the vote. But each year, Jones gained steam as voters began to understand the value of his elite defense at a premium position, combined with plus power at the plate. During his best years, Jones was one of the best center fielders the game has ever seen, winning Gold Gloves for 10 straight seasons while also hammering 434 home runs over his career. Prior to this year, only eight center fielders were enshrined in Cooperstown; with the election of Beltrán and Jones, that number now sits at 10.
A deeper dive into Jones’ prime reveals just how good he was. At age 19, Jones homered twice in his first two career World Series at-bats. He hit seven 30-homer seasons, led MLB with 51 homers in 2005, and was a five-time All-Star. Unfortunately, injuries cut into Jones’ career after age 30 and prevented him from adding even more to his eye-popping stats. Jones spent one lone season in 2010 in Chicago, where he posted a 120 OPS+ and put up a 1.9 WAR across 107 games for the White Sox. His career was also not without issue, as an off-field arrest for domestic violence in 2012 may have stalled his early ballot progression to the HOF.
Finally, reaching career highs on Monday was former White Sox southpaw Mark Buehrle, who saw his vote total jump from 11.4% in 2025 to 20% in 2026. It’s a steady increase over the course of his six years on the ballot, and one that could continue to trend upwards as seasons pass. Buehrle has one of the best pitching hallmarks of all time, tossing at least 200 innings in 14 straight seasons. Only seven Modern Era pitchers were able to reach that milestone at least once, and six of those pitchers are already in the Hall of Fame. Buehrle won 214 games, logged over 3,200 innings since the start of the 21st century, had elite defensive metrics earning him three Gold Gloves, and had signature moments, including a perfect game, a no-hitter, and an ALCS complete game. Hopefully, his case will only grow stronger with time, and the momentum eventually works in Buehrle’s favor.
