Looking at Hall of Fame ballot’s 2026 newcomers as Carlos Beltrán just misses election

For the 2nd twelvemonth successful a row, a erstwhile Mets prima came up conscionable abbreviated of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Carlos Beltrán appeared connected 70.3% of the 394 ballots submitted by voters from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, leaving him shy of the 75% required for election.

Beltrán, who played for the Mets from 2005-11 and for the Yankees from 2014-16, finished with 277 votes.

He needed 19 much votes to articulation the Class of 2025, which includes 2 erstwhile Yankees successful CC Sabathia (who appeared connected 86.8% of the ballots) and Ichiro Suzuki (99.7%), arsenic good arsenic erstwhile Mets person Billy Wagner (82.5%).

The bully quality for Beltrán is that helium has plentifulness of eligibility remaining. This twelvemonth was his 3rd connected the ballot, meaning helium has 7 much years to beryllium voted successful by the BBWAA.

And it astir apt won’t instrumentality overmuch longer.

Beltrán has made a dependable leap successful each of his 3 years connected the ballot, going from 46.5% of the ballot successful 2023 to 57.1% successful 2024 to 70.3% this year.

The 2026 people of newcomers does not boast anyone with the pedigree of Suzuki oregon Sabathia, who were some elected successful their archetypal twelvemonth of eligibility. There is besides nary 1 returning to the ballot similar Wagner, who was successful his 10th and last twelvemonth of eligibility and had finished lone 5 votes abbreviated successful 2024.

Headlining the first-time entries to the 2026 ballot is Cole Hamels, who went 163-122 with a 3.43 ERA implicit 15 seasons. He won a World Series with the Philadelphia Phillies successful 2008 but ne'er finished amended than 5th successful Cy Young Award voting.

He’s expected to beryllium joined connected the ballot by Ryan Braun, who deed 352 location runs and won a National League MVP Award during 14 seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers but served a 65-game suspension for his ties to the performance-enhancing-drug-related Biogenesis scandal.

Other recently eligible imaginable entries see Alex Gordon, Edwin Encarnacion, Shin-Soo Choo and Hunter Pence.

That unspectacular formed of newcomers could bode good for Beltrán, who deed .279 with 435 location runs, 1,587 RBI and 312 stolen bases implicit 20 seasons with the Kansas City Royals, Houston Astros, Mets, San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Yankees and Texas Rangers from 1998-2017.

The switch-hitting Beltrán is 1 of 5 players successful MLB past with astatine slightest 500 doubles, 400 location runs and 300 stolen bases. Two of the others, Willie Mays and Andre Dawson, are Hall of Famers. The others were Barry Bonds, who faced steroid allegations, and Alex Rodriguez, who served a 162-game suspension successful the Biogenesis scandal.

Beltrán’s 86.4% occurrence complaint connected stolen bases is the champion of immoderate subordinate since 1920.

His 67.4 wins supra replacement (WAR), according to FanGraphs, ranks 10th ever among halfway fielders.

Complicating Beltrán’s case, however, is his transportation to the Astros’ 2017 sign-stealing scandal. Beltrán was the lone subordinate named successful MLB’s investigation, which the league completed successful January 2020. The Mets, who had conscionable hired Beltrán arsenic their manager, parted ways with him earlier helium ever managed a game.

Terry Collins, who managed Beltrán with the Mets successful 2011, believes the nine-time All-Star is being “overly penalized.”

“This Astros happening has gotten retired of power now,” Collins said connected SNY’s “Baseball Night successful New York.” “The Hall of Fame is filled with guys who knew what pitches were coming astatine definite times, truthful I’m a small bushed of proceeding him being held accountable, to beryllium the lone feline who was a subordinate astatine the time.”

Others returning to the ballot see Andruw Jones, who received 66.2% of the ballot Tuesday successful his eighth twelvemonth of eligibility. The longtime Atlanta Braves halfway fielder deed 434 location runs and won 10 Gold Gloves during his 17 MLB seasons, the last 2 of which helium spent with the Yankees.

Rodriguez, who ranks 4th successful MLB past with 2,086 RBI and 5th with 696 location runs, appeared connected 37.1% of the ballots Tuesday, up from 34.8% successful 2024. Next twelvemonth volition beryllium his 5th clip connected the ballot.

Andy Pettitte received 27.9% of the ballot Tuesday, marking a 14.4% summation from 2024.

Pettitte won 5 World Series with the Yankees and finished his 18-year vocation with a 256-153 record, a 3.85 ERA and 2,448 strikeouts successful 3316 innings. His 19 postseason wins are the astir successful MLB history.

The left-handed Pettitte admitted to utilizing quality maturation hormone (HGH) successful 2002 and 2004 successful attempts to retrieve from injuries. MLB did not trial for the substance astatine the time, nor was it banned.

Pettitte, who is entering his eighth twelvemonth connected the ballot, has received renewed enactment among Hall of Fame voters possibly owed to the similarities betwixt his statistic and Sabathia’s. Sabathia finished with a 251-161 record, a 3.74 ERA and 3,093 strikeouts successful 3,577.1 innings implicit 19 MLB seasons.

“Getting a accidental to transportation alongside him, getting a accidental to inactive speech to him beauteous overmuch each the time, I judge he’s a Hall of Famer,” Sabathia said Tuesday of Pettitte, whom helium played with connected the Yankees from 2009-10 and 2012-13.

“Hopefully [with] my getting in, radical reconsider his candidacy and enactment him in. Anybody that wins 19 games successful the playoffs, I think, deserves to beryllium successful the Hall of Fame.”