Two former Texas Rangers in new HOF class

By David Mullen

In a vote revealed on January 20, the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) have elected power hitting center fielders Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones into The National Baseball Hall of Fame (HOF) in Cooperstown, N.Y. They join second baseman Jeff Kent, who was elected in December by the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee, in the HOF Class of 2026.  

The ceremony will be held on Sunday, July 26. Prepare to be underwhelmed. Beltrán, Jones and Kent are now Hall of Famers and will have plaques alongside Babe Ruth, Willie Mays and Ted Williams. When fans watched them play, it just didn’t feel like these were the type of players who were immediately identified as Hall of Famers.

On the bright side, Texas fans can travel to Upstate New York to see two more ex-Rangers become Hall of Famers, assuming the fans can even remember that both Beltrán and Jones played in Arlington. 

Acquired by Texas in the 2016 mid-season from the New York Yankees for the forgettable Nick Green, Erik Swanson and Dillon Tate, Beltrán played in 52 games and hit .280 with 7 HRs and 29 RBI primarily as a DH. In 82 games in 2009 with Texas, Jones hit .214 with 17 HRs and 43 RBI. Those are not exactly Hall of Fame numbers.

When assessing their entire careers, their numbers and achievements were worthy of Hall of Fame consideration. Beltrán is one of just four switch hitters in baseball history — with Hall of Famers Mickey Mantle, Eddie Murray and Chipper Jones — with more than 1,500 runs and 1,500 RBI.

Jones ostensibly began his career as a 19-year-old late season call-up by Atlanta. He burst on the scene by hitting two home runs in his first two at bats in the 1996 World Series, becoming the youngest player ever to hit a home run in the postseason and just the second player to homer in his first two World Series at bats.

A five-time All-Star, Jones was known more as a defensive wiz than a great hitter. Jones won 10 Gold Gloves in the outfield. Only HOFers Mays and Roberto Clemente had more Gold Gloves (12) as outfielders. He hit 434 career HRs but, like his one-year term in Texas, did not play a full season after age 30 and finished his career with a paltry .254 average.

To earn entrance to the HOF, a player must receive 75 percent of the BBWAA votes during his 10 years of eligibility. Beltrán gained entrance after four times on the ballot. Jones made the Hall on his ninth try with just three votes to spare, receiving slightly more than seven percent of votes in his first attempt. It’s mindboggling how much better a player seems to get in the sportswriter’s eyes as time goes by. It may be old school thinking in today’s cybermetric era, but I believe that you know a HOF player when you see one. I’m not convinced that Jones or Kent can pass that test. 

Beltrán stole a career 312 bases, making him a prolific base stealer. He was also a prolific sign-stealer. In 2017, Beltrán and the Houston Astros won the World Series but were found to be cheating. Beltrán was involved in a sign-stealing operation where trash cans in the dugout were banged to give hitters useful information about the next pitch. Beltrán played the role of Buddy Rich.

After four years of not voting for Beltrán, some members of the BBWAA decided that he had served his sentence and elected him to baseball’s HOF. What the collective Hall of Fame is stating is that some methods of cheating, like Beltrán’s sign-stealing, hurler Gaylord Perry’s doctoring of the baseball or Ty Cobb’s alleged game-fixing, are accepted means of cheating but any player associated with performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) — proven or rumored — are not HOF worthy.  

One online poster wrote, “’Bang the Trash Can Slowly — The Carlos Beltrán Story.’ Coming soon to a theater near a small town in Upstate New York.”

Due to confirmed PED use during his tenure, Manny Ramírez was denied entry on his final year of eligibility despite hitting 555 HRs and finishing with a .312 career average. He failed to make the Hall in his 10th and final year on the ballot. Confirmed PED user Alex Rodriquez, one of the greatest baseball players of the 21st century, received slightly more than 40 percent of the votes. PED user Barry Bonds and alleged user Roger Clemens are ineligible for election, having failed to gain greater than 75 percent of votes over 10 years of eligibility. 

Without the PED allegations, cheaters Ramírez, Rodriquez, Bonds and Clemens would have been first ballot HOFers. Beltrán is one of five players in baseball history with at least 500 doubles, 400 HRs and 300 steals along with HOFers Mays and Andre Dawson and penalized PED users Bonds and Rodriguez.

Despite his involvement in the Astros cheating scandal, Beltrán’s statistics warrant HOF admission. Jones and Kent’s careers, while impressive, did not back up entrance to many observers. 

Admission into Baseball’s Hall of Fame, arguably the highest honor a player can receive in professional sports, is being cheapened by the inconsistency of entrance criteria. All-time hits leader Pete Rose has been excluded from the Hall because he gambled on baseball. Ramírez, Bonds, Clemens and Rodriquez are plaqueless in Cooperstown because of PEDs.

The Class of 2026 is underwhelming and will be noted more for players not elected. As another online pundit wrote, baseball’s Hall of Fame has become “The Hall of the Very Good.”