Carlos Beltrán's excellence spanned two decades and several generations, but all the appreciation of his career has taken a back seat to what happened in his 20th and final big-league season.
A few years after his last game in 2017, Beltrán had just been appointed manager of the New York Mets and was named in MLB's report into the Houston Astros' sign-stealing scandal – the only player not granted immunity during the investigation. Alleged to have been a ringleader in the scheme, Beltrán lost his job while active players faced no consequences and coaches A.J. Hinch and Alex Cora were back on the bench after just one year off.
"Everyone gets immunity except Carlos Beltran? I don't get it," Beltrán said in 2022.
Beltrán certainly got a raw deal, and was made to pay the price in his first year on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot in 2023, garnering just 46.5% of the vote. But things are looking up in early voting results, with Beltrán gathering 66.7% support through nearly half of the estimated ballots.
Beltrán stayed productive until age 40 and has a résumé that stacks up favorably against players already in the Hall of Fame.
HOT STOVE UPDATES: MLB free agency: Ranking and tracking the top players available.
Beltrán won three Gold Glove awards as one of the best defensive center fielders of the aughts and made the last of his nine All-Star appearances at age 39. His 70.1 WAR is eighth among players who spent at least 60% of their games in center, behind six Hall of Famers and Mike Trout.
His postseason heroics are the stuff of legend, clubbing eight home runs in 12 playoff games for the Astros as a rental player in 2004. He finished his career with a 1.021 OPS, 16 homers and 42 RBI in postseason appearances with the Astros, Mets, Cardinals, Yankees and Rangers.
Beltrán had the sixth-highest WAR in baseball from 1999-2008, in good company trailing only Alex Rodriguez, Albert Pujols, Barry Bonds, Chipper Jones and Todd Helton.
There's the whole Astros scandal, but nothing to add on that!
While he has the fifth-most homers (435) of any center fielder, injuries limited Beltrán to just 145 total games in 2009-2010, which ultimately cost him an earnest run at 500 home runs.
While he spent the majority of his career in center, Beltrán didn't play the position over his last seven seasons, transitioning to right field and later designated hitter from age 33.
Beltrán's career statistics are extremely similar to Andre Dawson, who didn't get into the Hall of Fame until his ninth try on the ballot. Dawson is the really the only semi-contemporary comparable for Beltran.
Beltrán is making his second appearance on the ballot.
Tracking at about two-thirds of the voting through Monday, the most important thing in Beltrán's early results is the gain of new 15 votes from returning voters. That leads us to believe that there was at least some subconscious wrist-slapping for Beltran in his debut year.
Beltrán's final 2024 tally should give us a better outlook on how fast his support will grow, but it would be shocking if he's not in the Hall of Fame by the end of his time on the ballot.
