Updated Jan. 20, 2026, 7:18 p.m. ET
There was no need to pore over advanced analytics, algorithms or spreadsheets.
There were no public relations campaigns.
None of it was needed.
Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones instead were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday night the old-fashioned way.
The Baseball Writers’ Association of America voted them in by simply relying on their eyesight from watching them play, while also listening to what their teammates and peers said about them during and after their careers.
If you watched Beltrán and Jones play, you knew these two center fielders were Hall of Famers.
If you asked their former teammates, managers, coaches and opponents, you knew these two players — born just a day apart — were Hall of Famers.
If you still needed to validate your belief, a quick glance at the most basic of statistics would tell you these players were Hall of Famers.
All you had to do is watch. And listen.
Jones was a meteor who burst onto the scene in 1996, won 10 Gold Glove awards in his first 10 seasons, and was widely considered not only the greatest defensive outfielder of his era, but one of the best iin history.
Hall of Famers Willie Mays and Roberto Clemente are the only outfielders in history to win more Gold Glove awards. If his career didn’t crater after 11 years in Atlanta, hitting just .210 with a .740 OPS and 66 homers his last five seasons covering 434 games, he might have been a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
Beltrán was a fabulous five-tool player who could hit, run, play defense, and had one of the greatest baseball acumens of anyone in the game. Beltrán, a nine-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove winner, hit .279 with 435 homers and 1,587 RBIs in 20 seasons. He also had one of the greatest resumes in postseason history (.307, 16 homers, 42 RBIs).
He not only was a Roberto Clemente Award winner for his humanitarian efforts off the field, but was considered one of the game’s finest clubhouse leaders.
If Beltrán had retired just one year earlier and didn’t play for the 2017 Houston Astros, who were later caught illegally stealing signs during the entire season, he likely would have been a first-ballot inductee.
Beltrán and Jones had to wait, but it should only make them appreciate the honor even more on this day.
Besides, once you’re in the Hall of Fame, all that matters is that you’re in baseball’s most prestigious club.
There are no designations on your plaque how many years it took for election.
All that matters is that you have a plaque hanging in the gallery, just like Babe Ruth Mays, Mickey Mantle, Ken Griffey Jr., Cool Papa Bell and Joe DiMaggio.
Sure, are there warts?
Absolutely.
It’s no different than anyone else in the Hall of Fame.
Jones is one of only four players to hit at least 400 homers and win 10 Gold Gloves, but he also has the second-lowest batting average (.254) of any Hall of Famer. He is also the first Hall of Famer with fewer than 2,000 hits in 50 years.
Could Beltran, one of only five players in history to hit 500 doubles (565), 400 homers (435) and steal 300 bases (312), have done a better job apologizing for his role in the cheating scandal? Sure.
It doesn’t matter now.
They are authentic Hall of Famers, and their inclusion might open the door for others behind them.
Now that Beltran is the first player to be elected into the Hall of Fame from the Astros’ cheating scandal, how can All-Star second baseman Jose Altuve be blocked from the Hall when his time arrives, and anyone else from that team?
And now that Jones is in with his 10 Gold Gloves and 434 homers, this could assist Torii Hunter’s candidacy with his nine Gold Gloves, 353 homers and 2,452 hits — 519 more than Jones. Certainly, it has to be a boost for Kenny Lofton (six-time All-Star, four-time Gold Glove winner, 2,428 hits) who was off the BBWAA ballot after one year, but remains eligible for election on the contemporary era committee when it meets again in three years.
We’ll discover the ramifications of their inclusion in future Hall of Fame elections.
All that matters in this 2026 election is that Beltran and Jones are Hall of Famers now, and forever.
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