Puerto Rican Legend Carlos Beltrán Elected to MLB Hall of Fame
FILE - New York Mets' Carlos Beltran smiles during an introductory baseball news conference in New York, Nov. 4, 2019. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
Carlos Beltrán has officially been elected to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. Beltrán becomes the sixth Puerto Rican-born player to be elected to the Hall of Fame after a 20-year career.
“There’s no doubt that today, my life really has changed. What this means to me, to Puerto Rico, to our family…it’s just a great thing that through my career, through the ups and downs of baseball, today I can say that I’m a Hall of Famer,” Beltrán said according to MLB.
He shared the news on Instagram and said, “Wow! I can’t explain all the emotions I just went through. I can’t believe I’m now part of the Hall of Fame. It’s madness. I think about all the training nights and the times I doubted myself.” He is now the 6th Hall of Famer from Puerto Rico.
Beltrán was on 84.2 percent of Baseball Writers’ Association of America ballots to cross the needed threshold of 75% to make it to the Hall.
Beltrán’s accolades include nine All-Star selections, 435 home runs, 312 stolen bases, 2,725 hits, the 1999 Rookie of the Year award, and three Gold Gloves. He was also a winner of the Roberto Clemente Humanitarian Award in 2013. Beltrán was considered a rare combination of speed and power at the center field position throughout his career.
Playing his best baseball for the New York Mets, Beltrán also played for the Kansas City Royals, Houston Astros, San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Yankees, and Texas Rangers.
In his fourth year on the BBWAA ballot, many attribute the delay in his Hall of Fame selection to his role in the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal. He subsequently won a World Series with the Astros in 2017.
Carlos Beltrán joins Roberto Clemente, Orlando Cepeda, Roberto Alomar, Ivan Rodriguez, and Edgar Martínez on the list of Puerto Rican players in the MLB Hall of Fame.