COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — For Carlos Beltran, Andruw Jones, and Jeff Kent, Sunday’s Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony felt like stepping back to the very beginning of their careers.
“This is the closest thing to my first at-bat in the big leagues,” Beltran said as he began his speech. “Where I feel excited to be here, but at the same time, I feel very nervous.”
After years of waiting, all three men were formally welcomed into baseball immortality before an estimated crowd of 12,000 fans on a sunny afternoon at the Clark Sports Center in the picturesque upstate New York town. Their induction raises the Hall of Fame’s total membership to 354 people.
A record 60 living Hall of Famers were on hand for the ceremony, with 57 already-inducted members seated on the stage behind the three newcomers.
Beltran earned his spot through a vote by the Baseball Writers Association of America in his fourth year of eligibility, while Jones was chosen in his ninth year on the ballot. Kent, who never topped 46.5% of the writers’ vote during his 10 years of eligibility between 2014 and 2023, was selected last December by the contemporary baseball era committee.
“This is a day we’re not going to forget,” Jones said. “I feel like a rookie today.”
Kent shared a touching moment he had before the ceremony. “Johnny Bench, he told it to me this morning before we got on the bus that ‘You belong, you belong,’” Kent said. “It hasn’t hit me yet.”
Each of the three inductees delivered speeches that reflected both the international roots of the game and the long journeys they took to reach this milestone.
Kent, a 20th-round pick of the Toronto Blue Jays out of Cal in 1989, slugged 351 of his 377 career home runs from the second base position — the most ever by any player at that spot. He spoke about his teenage years racing motorcycles and how his father offered to buy him a pickup truck if he earned a college baseball scholarship.
“That truck is still with me. It sits in my garage as a simple reminder that some of the simplest things …” Kent said, pausing briefly before continuing. “The simplest things can change the entire direction of your life.”
Kent posted a .274 batting average with 78 home runs and a .777 OPS while playing for the Blue Jays, New York Mets, and Cleveland from 1992 through 1996. He truly came into his own with the San Francisco Giants, where he hit .297 with 175 homers and a .903 OPS over six seasons and captured the 2000 National League Most Valuable Player award.
“San Francisco was home,” Kent said. “San Francisco was where every lesson I’ve learned finally came together.”
Jones, who signed with the Atlanta Braves out of Curacao for $46,000 as a 16-year-old in 1993, acknowledged the 16 fellow Curacao natives who have made it to the major leagues, as he becomes the first player from Curacao ever enshrined in the Hall of Fame.
Jones’ career .254 batting average is the second-lowest among Hall of Fame position players, and his 1,933 hits are the fewest for any Hall of Famer who began playing after 1970. However, his selection reflects a growing recognition of a player’s peak performance over career longevity — Jones averaged 33 home runs and more than 100 RBIs per season while winning 10 Gold Gloves across 12 seasons with Atlanta from 1996 to 2007.
He becomes the eighth member of the Braves’ National League East dynasty to enter the Hall of Fame, joining former teammates Tom Glavine, Chipper Jones, Greg Maddux, Fred McGriff, and John Smoltz, along with executive John Schuerholz and manager Bobby Cox.
“Hitting home runs is great but I took a lot of pride in my defense, because that was winning games,” Jones said. “And the Braves won a lot of games because of pitching and defense.”
Beltran, a second-round pick of the Kansas City Royals in 1995, took the stage to chants of “Puerto Rico!” in tribute to his home country. The 49-year-old pulled a Puerto Rican flag from his jacket pocket early in his remarks.
Among switch-hitters, Beltran ranks fourth all-time with 435 home runs, trailing Hall of Famers Mickey Mantle, Eddie Murray, and Chipper Jones. He is also one of only three center fielders in history with at least 400 home runs and 300 stolen bases, alongside Hall of Famers Willie Mays and Andre Dawson.
His four-year wait for induction was widely attributed to his role as the only active player named in the investigation into the sign-stealing scandal involving the 2017 Houston Astros — a controversy that cost him his position as New York Mets manager before he ever managed a single game in 2020.
Beltran chose to wear a Mets cap on his Hall of Fame plaque. He batted .280 with 149 home runs, 559 RBIs, 100 stolen bases, and three Gold Gloves across six and a half seasons with the club, where he currently serves as a special assistant to the president of baseball operations.
“Every organization shapes your career — New York shaped my life,” Beltran said. “The Mets cap, what it represents to me is growth and it represents the place where I became the best version of myself.”
Looking ahead to next year’s ballot, catcher Buster Posey is considered the top newcomer. Posey hit .302, won an MVP award, and helped the Giants capture three championships during his 12-year career. Former Philadelphia Phillies standout Chase Utley, who drew 59.1% of the vote in his third year of eligibility, is the leading returning candidate. Former Giants managers Dusty Baker and Bruce Bochy are also viewed as strong contenders for election through the contemporary baseball era non-players committee, which is scheduled to convene in December.
