One of the most under-appreciated players in Mets history will now be enshrined as one of the game’s all-time greats, as former Met great Carlos Beltrán was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday.
Beltrán received 84.2 percent of the vote in his fourth year of eligibility. He received 70.3 percent of the vote in 2025, falling 4.7 percent short of the required 75 percent, which made it seem all but a certainty he’d be elected this winter.
Beltrán produced 67.4 fWAR during his illustrious 20-year career with the Royals, Astros, Mets, Giants, Rangers, Cardinals, and Yankees. He was a career .279/.350/.486 with 565 doubles, 78 triples, 435 home runs, 1,587 RBI, 1,537 runs scored, and 312 stolen bases.
He is among five players in history who have hit at least 500 doubles, 400 homers, and stolen at least 300 bases (others: Alex Rodríguez, Barry Bonds, Andre Dawson, Willie Mays). His 86.4% stolen base rate is the best since 1920 for players with at least 200 steals, and is one of only 38 players to have ever scored at least 1,500 runs and driven in at least 1,500 runs.
His 67.4 fWAR is 10th best all-time among qualified centerfielders. His 565 doubles are fourth all-time, and his 435 home runs are fifth all-time.
With the Mets, Beltrán hit .280/.369/.500, with 208 doubles, 17 triples, 149 home runs, 559 RBI, 100 SB (16 CS!), 449 BB, 551 runs scored, and posted 29.3 fWAR.
His 29.3 fWAR ranks fifth behind only Francisco Lindor (29.8), José Reyes (33.2), Darryl Strawberry (35.5), and David Wright (51.3) in Mets history. His 149 home runs are seventh all-time in Mets history, his 551 runs scored are 10th, his 559 RBI are seventh, his 100 stolen bases are 12th, and his 127 wRC+ are eighth.
Beltrán joined the Mets before the 2005 season on a seven-year, $119 million contract after spending the first seven years of his career with the Royals. He was traded to the Astros at the trade deadline in 2004 and posted one of the greatest performances in postseason history when he went 20-for-44 with three doubles, eight home runs, 14 RBI, and 31 runs scored against the Braves in the Division Series and the Cardinals in the National League Championship Series.
That was just the beginning of a brilliant postseason career for Beltrán, who hit .307/.412/.609 with 15 doubles, one triple, 16 home runs and 42 RBI in 256 plate appearances over 65 postseason games with the Astros, Mets, Cardinals, Yankees, and Rangers. He parlayed that playoff performance in 2004 and his existing resume into a long-term contract with the Mets, which ultimately turned out to be one of the best free agent contracts to be agreed to in the history of baseball.
The Mets dealt Beltrán to the Giants in the final year of his contract at the trade deadline in 2011 for Zack Wheeler, who was with the Mets through the 2019 season.
The Mets would hire Beltrán to be their manager before the 2020 season, but he later resigned after his involvement in the Astros cheating scandal from the 2017 season was revealed. That involvement likely impacted Beltran’s Hall of Fame candidacy over the first three years of his eligibility, but that incident wouldn’t stop the Mets from later hiring Beltrán back as a member of their front office, that which he has served in a few capacities since 2023.
Beltrán won the American League Rookie of the Year Award in 1999. He was a three-time Gold Glove Award winner, a nine-time All-Star, a two-time Silver Slugger Award Winner, a recipient of the Roberto Clemente Award, and finished in the top-20 for the Most Valuable Player Award five times.
He has said he would like to go into the Hall of Fame with a Mets cap, should he be elected.
The Mets have discussed the possibility of retiring Beltrán’s no. 15 in 2026 if he were to be elected to the Hall of Fame, according to the New York Post. But it’s uncertain due to the club’s plans to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the 1986 World Championship. Currently, Tyrone Taylor wears no. 15 for the Mets.
Beltrán will be enshrined in the Hall of Fame alongside another former Met, Jeff Kent, and Andruw Jones on July 26.
Congratulations. One of the greatest Mets player ever. He was specular with the Mets
Congratulations!