The 2025 ballot for the National Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot includes the name of Carlos Beltrán. This is the third year for Beltrán on the ballot.
In his first two appearances on the Baseball Writers ballot for the Hall of Fame, Beltrán received 46.5% and 57.1% support.
Beltrán is one of only three candidates returning to the Hall of Fame ballot in 2025 who has received at least 40% support in previous elections. The others are relief pitcher Billy Wagner and fellow center fielder Andruw Jones. Among those three, Beltrán is the most controversial.
By the time he was an All-Star for the ninth and final time, Beltrán had more than 2,700 hits and 400 home runs. He was generally considered a future Hall of Famer. Some may have thought he was on the bubble, but most observers felt Beltrán deserved election to Cooperstown.
But a few years after he retired from playing, and just as he was hired to manage his former team, the Mets, Beltrán became embroiled in scandal.
While a player with the Astros in 2017, Beltrán allegedly was one of the masterminds behind a scheme that allowed Houston to signal pitches to their own batters during home games. The resultant scandal, which tainted the Astros’ 2017 World Series title, tarnished Beltrán’s legacy. He stepped down as Mets’ manager before managing a single game in 2020.
Given his nearly 11-percent increase in Hall of Fame voting support from his first year to his second, it seems some voters are willing to forgive Beltrán for his role in that sign-stealing scandal.
But where does Beltrán rate compared to Hall of Fame center fielders?
The chart below compares Carlos Beltrán to four Hall of Fame center fielders in five categories. As you can see, Beltrán compares well in every metric, bolstered by his longevity and long peak and short peak. Only Duke Snider clearly exceeds Beltrán’s value in WAR7 and WAR3.
Beltrán outperforms Andre Dawson in career Wins Above Replacement, WAR7, WAR3, and JAWS (the average between WAR and WAR7). Dawson only outrates Beltrán in the category of Five Best Consecutive Seasons (WAR5C).
Comparing Beltrán to center fielders already in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Compared to an average Hall of Fame center fielder, Beltrán measures favorably. He is slightly below the average HOF CFer in every one of our five WAR categories, but not by much, and in a few, the difference is negligible.
The table below lists the post-World War II outfielders with Career Wins Above Replacement of 70+ AND JAWS of 50+.
| Left Fielders | Center Fielders | Right Fielders |
|---|---|---|
| Carl Yastrzemski | Willie Mays | Hank Aaron |
| Pete Rose | Mickey Mantle | Al Kaline |
| Rickey Henderson | Ken Griffey Jr. | Frank Robinson |
| Barry Bonds | Carlos Beltrán | Roberto Clemente |
| Mike Trout | Reggie Jackson | |
| Larry Walker |
There have been 15 outfielders since 1945 who have accumulated 70+ WAR. Of those, 13 are eligible for the Hall of Fame, and 11 of them are in the Hall of Fame.
Only Barry Bonds and Carlos Beltrán are in that group of outfielders and NOT in the Hall of Fame, among those eligible.
Mays and Beltrán are the only two center fielders in baseball history to achieve those statistical milestones.
Only 11 players, regardless of position, have at least 2,500 hits, 300 home runs, 200 stolen bases, and an OPS+ of 115 or higher: Mays, Hank Aaron, Frank Robinson, Reggie Jackson, George Brett, Dave Winfield, Andre Dawson, Barry Bonds, Gary Sheffield, Alex Rodriguez, and Beltran.