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Carlos Beltran was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by writers Tuesday night after a stellar career at the plate and being directly linked to the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal.
It’s the link to the scandal from the Astros’ 2017 World Series season that had baseball fans wondering why Beltran received enough votes to meet the threshold.
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Houston Astros designated hitter Carlos Beltran (15) is congratulated by his teammates after scoring in the fourth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on July 29, 2017. (Rick Osentoski/USA TODAY Sports)
They sounded on social networks.
The MLB report following its investigation into the Astros found that they violated rules by using electronic devices to steal signs on their way to winning the 2017 World Series. In the report, Beltrán is specifically mentioned as someone who played a major role in it. In fact, he was the only person mentioned in the report.
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New York Mets right fielder Carlos Beltran dives for the ball during the third inning of an MLB baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on April 22, 2011 in New York. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun, File)
This came to light as Beltrán was about to take on his first season as a manager in the MLB, something he had wanted to do since leaving the game as a player. But the Mets had to move on and eventually hired Luis Rojas before he was replaced by Buck Showalter early last year.
No formal punishment was ever imposed on the players. The Astros organization was fined $5 million and lost draft picks. Team owner Jeff Luhnow and then-coach AJ Hinch were suspended for the 2020 season, which was then affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
Beltrán’s numbers at the plate speak for themselves.
He was a career .279 hitter with 435 home runs, was a nine-time All-Star and American League Rookie of the Year in 1999. He played for the Astros, Mets, Kansas City Royals, San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Yankees and Texas Rangers. His career lasted 20 years.
Beltrán received 84.2% of the vote, an increase of nearly 14% over last year’s round of voting. Still, no superstar linked to the MLB steroid scandal has been chosen.
Carlos Beltran of the New York Mets smiles during a baseball press conference in New York on Nov. 4, 2019. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
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He was chosen along with former Atlanta Braves star Andruw Jones.
