Baseball Hall of Fame: Carlos Beltrán, Andruw Jones and Jeff Kent inducted into Cooperstown
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- Carlos Beltrán, Andruw Jones, and Jeff Kent were inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday on the lawn outside the Clark Sports Center in Cooperstown, forming the smallest three-person class since 2022.
- Beltrán was elected by the BBWAA in his fourth year on the ballot, with support rising from 46.5% to 57.1% to 70.3% to 84.2%; he retired with 2,725 hits, 435 home runs, and 312 stolen bases and will wear a Mets cap on his plaque.
- Jones was elected by the BBWAA in his ninth year on the ballot after his vote share climbed from 7.3% to 78.4%; the 10-time consecutive Gold Glove center fielder hit 434 career home runs and became the youngest player to homer twice in a World Series game at 19 years, 180 days old in 1996.
- Kent was elected by the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee with 14 of 16 votes, after 10 years on the BBWAA ballot with support never exceeding 46.5%; the 2000 NL MVP holds the all-time record of 377 home runs by a primary second baseman.
- Beltrán's 2017 World Series ring with the Astros remains shadowed by the sign-stealing scandal, even as he joined the 2,700-hit, 400-HR, 300-SB club with only Barry Bonds, Andre Dawson, Willie Mays, and Alex Rodriguez.
Why it matters: The class exposes how the Hall's two-track vetting system shapes enshrinement: Jones waited nine BBWAA ballots and Beltrán four, while Kent was bypassed by writers for a decade before a 16-person committee cleared him with 14 votes on the first try. The three-person size — the smallest since 2022 — also signals the post-logjam thinness of the 2026 candidate pool.
