New HOFer for 2026
craig44
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I am a little surprised no one has started a thread about the new HOFers. Beltran and Jones. probably because neither was a super star when they played. in my opinion, both are mid tier at best. Honestly, when watching their careers happen real time, I never looked at either and thought "those guys are definitely HOFers"
Also somewhat surprised that Beltran made it in with the Astros cheating scandal. seems like a double standard to me...
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
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MLB HOF is something I used to enjoy reading about and looked forward to the new inductees but since it's turned into a HOF of very good and pretty good I couldn't care less anymore
I tend to be a big hall guy and I think there are good cases to be made for both Beltran and Jones's induction, but neither excite me at all. I used to attend the HOF inductions ceremonies very frequently. I think i have been to 10 or more. I have not been for a long time though, it has been since before Covid.
even as a big hall guy, Cooperstown sort of jumped the shark when Baines and Morris got the nod. I also am not a big fan of "closers" getting in...
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
The hall is losing its luster for me too. They basically put ten extremely similar players in a hat, grab three, and proclaim "Hall of Famer." The others just get forgotten.
Another head scratcher is how is Andy Pettitte(48%) getting more votes than Arod(40%)? Both have public PED links. Arod is a top tier HOF caliber player any way you slice it, and Pettitte extremely border line at best.
Just shows the voters are clueless.
Pettitte closing in on Clemens' high vote (65%) too.
I also didn't realize that Rick Porcello's parents are voters...otherwise I don't know how else to explain him getting two votes.
I saw Beltran play when he first came up with the Royals and he was impressive. I think people forget how fast he was because he got a little pudgy in later years. He was an exceptional center fielder, covered a lot of ground. He never got caught stealing more than 8 times in a season and had a 2 year stretch where he stole 83 and got caught only 7 times. One of the highest SB percentages of all time for his career. Legit 5 tool player… for me a no doubt HOF’er. 🥳👍😁
Beltran also averaged 99 runs scored and 99 RBI’s over 162 games for his career, not too shabby.
Could you imagine a ceremony at the hallowed grounds of Cooperstown and no one showed up? No one inducted, no fans, no merchandise, no nothing. Yeah, they need something to provide a feast of pleasure for baseball people. If the Hall Of Fame dries out, the world really is coming to an end.
Both are deserving, even if many fans aren't excited about it.
i agree when i watched both players when they played i did not see them as hall of fame players either. i wonder how the old fans of past hall of fame players did they think that some of the greats were hall of fame players when they watched the old players play. i was a little surprised that beltran got in so fast he was a steady player who never won a mvp or led the league in that many stats. jones had such an early start to his career that most of his stats were in his twenties and by time he was thirty fell off way to soon. i wonder how many more players who only played twelve years or less get in the hall of fame now in the future.
such a shame that the royals could not complete and resign beltan in 1999. in todays market maybe the royals could resign now but probably not. i am surprise the royals actually spent the money to give witt a big contract that he has. really witt is under paided right now in seeing how much money players less talented as he is.
it happened in 2013. no living player inducted. only a couple of guys who played in the 1800s and died in the 1930s
almost no one showed up.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
check out Felix Hernandez. he bumped up to the 40% range this season. a starter who only threw like 2300 innings and never pitched in a post season.
i am afraid that is the type of starters we will be expecting in cooperstown in the future.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
They can’t let that happen again.
Jones was elite for a decade so Im fine with him, but just no on Beltran. Having to have all these committees to retroactively do it and how bad the writers have turned it into a homecoming vote I'm like most fans where I just dont really care about it anymore with what the writers have done to it this century
Fire AJ Preller
it is going to be interesting how the hall and writers judge starting pitchers in the future years. average pitchers are going to be elected because most pitchers do not even throw for three or four innings a start anymore. probably see more relief pitchers going in the hall in the future.
How I feel as well. Harold Baines is included, while Rose, Bonds, and Clemens arn't. Its been a joke for quite a while now.
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Pitchers who are truly deserving will get elected. There are still quite enough starters in the current game who could be statistically able to qualify. They won't win 300 games or strike out 3,000 hitters, but they will have memorable careers. Anyone who comes close to those types of numbers is a phenomenon.
If Hernandez gets elected, then I dont see how guys like Hershiser, Cone, Saberhagen, Brown and Stieb to name a few dont get in.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
Beltran reminds me a lot of Andre Dawson. their offensive production is very close. Dawson had good speed as well during his younger years before his knees gave out.
I have no problem with Beltran's election. It just does not excite me in any way. he is a mid/low tier HOF guy.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
i went to Cooperstown once and i'd recommend it to anyone. but in terms of me getting worked up over who's going to be seen inside, those days are long gone. i really am apathetic about it now. i watched a ton of Andruw Jones and Carlos Beltran and they were very good players for a long time. but at no time did i ever think "famer." perhaps my bar is too high, idk. but i guarantee you that i'd never lower it just because. and that's what it feels like it happening with baseball. very good -- not truly exceptional -- players are regularly getting in and the problem is that there are a ton of those types. next thing you know, the floodgates open and those halls are no longer hallowed.
I visited Cooperstown back in 1989, to this day I am still shocked at the lack of quality cards in the shops around there, I think I bought a 1967 Willie Mays and that was it, I remember being very disappointed that there was very little vintage cards for sale
This was 37 years ago though
they are still overpriced. way overpriced touristy places. there is a small card show on main street during induction weekend though. I have picked up some cool stuff there over the years.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
I loved the vibe on Main St. in Cooperstown. Lots of people with kids, dogs, shopping bags, and baseball gear everywhere. When we were there 25 years ago, I was beyond overjoyed to visit a card shop and see cool stuff. I visited one store. I looked at the showcase and noticed the prices. I turned my family around within a few minutes and said "Let's go check out the food."
Everyone should be judged by their era. The bar has certainly been lowered, but they shouldnt be retroactively lowering it.
Fire AJ Preller
What would of been the odds back then that these players recently elected would of beat Clemens, McGwire,A-rod,Bonds, to the HOF finish line.
Would have looked like one of the college football games where they dont do a line because it would be so big
Fire AJ Preller
no fan watching MLB from 1986-2000 would have in one million years have thought that jack morris, alan trammell and harold baines would have been HOFers and clemens, arod and bonds would not be.
not one fan.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
And thats why so many fans stopped caring about the HOF
Fire AJ Preller
Or Baines getting in before Garvey, Murphy, and Schilling?
2025 SEC bowl record 4-10
SEC bowl record vs BIG TEN last two years 2-8
Beltran was front and center in the Astros cheating scandal and he admits it. I guess 'cheating' penalties only apply to suspected PED users....well only some suspected PED users as some are in the hall and others who admitted to using PED have their vote totals increasing.
Jim Edmonds was better than Beltran anyway. Better than Andruw Jones too.
Beltran's interview the other day about being the ring leader of the cheating scandal. Paraphrasing, he admitted he was part of it, but he deflected. He said they also 'justified' it by saying they were confident other teams were doing it. Then when asked why he didn't stand up and stop doing it, he blamed the manager and said the manager should have gotten up in the locker room and put an end to it.
All of that sounds very similar to the PED witch hunt and subsequent defense...but worse since that actually was cheating.
For the hall of fame voters it seems their only standard is a double standard. As such, the baseball HOF has become a joke.
it is crazy how some players get a pass and others dont. Back in 1951 the Giants did basically the same thing as the 17 astros. they used a telescope in the centerfield bleachers, radios and a buzzer to relay signs to batters. Willie Mays was a part of that cheating scandal, but never does one ever hear about that.
just like, as you mentioned, some ped users are considered "cheaters" while others are in the HOF.
so many double standards
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
Standard seems like were you nice to us or not because it really hasnt made any sense for several years now
Fire AJ Preller
Vintage players get a pass since what wrongs they may have been guilty of pale, in some people's mind, to what the modern boys may be guilty of. So your comment of a double standard fits well in the discussion.
What becomes a Hall of Famer in terms of cumulative stats is only going to get worse, especially for pitchers.
Jones was sure-fire HOF player his first 10 years & the decline was steep - didn't appear to be in good shape.
Beltran never led the league in any offensive stat. He accumulated good numbers but...
It's time to put in the "cheaters" when the biggest enabler of them all, Bud Selig, comfortably sits in the HOF.
Erik
I tried to book Hotel late Jan 2013 for HOF week figured a great opportunity and was still unable. Much lower amounts of "day trippers" but same normal amount of attendees seeking lodging.
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it is always really difficult to get lodging in Cooperstown itself. We always stayed outside of Cooperstown and traveled in every day. we made it a 5 day thing on induction weekend. drive out thursday, cooperstown friday and saturday, and clark sports center for the inductions sunday.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
Always thought Beltran was a HOF. 9 AS games, ROY, 3 GG, 2 SS, 70 career WAR, 1500+ RBI and 1500+ Runs, 400+ Homers, 300+ Steals, 500+ Doubles, 2700+ Hits. Didnt strike out much, walked a decent amount.
He had a really good 8 year peak worth 47 WAR from 01-08. Also had the longevity and was productive late into his career.
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When you know what pitch is coming those numbers aren't really as impressive as they might look..
Every argument one makes against the suspected PED users you can apply those to Beltran too.
Per the method used by fans to judge suspected PED use and its affect on stats:
Beltran OPS+ through age 28 was 111. Where does that scream HOF?? That is 4,500 plate appearances of just barely above average league hitting.
Beltran OPS+ from age 29 to 34 was 134.
Did he find some type of cheat code to get so much better...you know...the same way guys look at the suspercted PED user stats and believe they know where he started doing PED's and that is why their stats jumped.
Beltran from age 34 age 40 OPS+ 120.
Id love to hear the voters explain how hes in and Gary Sheffield isnt. Dont even have to open the can of worms with Bonds and Clemens theres so many players that have been left out
Fire AJ Preller
Beltran's best hitting years were;
Age 29, 27, 30, 34, (unusually high), 26, 24.
his worst hitting years were;
Age 23 (hurt? only played 98 games), 40, 37, 28 (unusually low), 22 and 38.
Other than a big year at the age of 34 looks like a pretty normal career arc.
As to Sheffield everyone knows why he isn't getting votes.
Yet Ortiz is in and so is Beltran who was fired from managing the Mets for his role in the Astros cheating.
If Sheffield isnt going to get votes than they shouldnt either. If they are than he should too.
Just be consistent
Fire AJ Preller
Beltran was a GG Centerfielder and I don't know his role in the cheating.
I'm surprised Ortiz got in.
yup
He was literally the designer of it.
Can you provide your sources?
I would be interested in that too.
He just admitted it in a recent interview...not specifically saying he was the designer, but that he was the one MLB came down on by name. He then shifted the blame to the manager for not stepping up and stopping it. He also tried to justify it by saying they felt other teams were doing it.
"From The Athletic:
[I]t was Beltrán who, according to multiple sources, told the Astros that their sign-stealing methods were “behind the times.”
During the season, small groups of Astros discussed their misgivings. McCann at one point approached Beltrán and asked him to stop, two members of the 2017 team said.
“He disregarded it and steamrolled everybody,” one of the team members said. “Where do you go if you’re a young, impressionable player with the Astros and this guy says, ‘We’re doing this’? What do you do?”
Beltran and Alex Cora were singled out in MLB’s investigation as two of the main forces behind the Astros’ scheme, which used a camera in centerfield to relay live signs into the Astros dugout. Houston players would then use a nearby trash can to signal to hitters in real-time if a breaking ball was coming."
Beltran admitted to it like I said above...not directly admitting to being the ring leader...but that he was indeed singled out by name by the MLB investigation as a key figure.
He admitted they did it. However, he tried to justify it by saying other teams did it. He also blamed the manager for not stopping it lol.
He did it. There isn't a question.
Double Standard.
"Of Beltran’s power in the Houston clubhouse, The Athletic wrote:
Beltrán’s sway over the clubhouse, however, helps explain the inaction of Hinch and his other coaches and players, even as some who were there say they felt conflicted about the team’s misconduct. The reluctance of anyone in uniform to challenge Beltrán spoke to the power of the accomplished veteran in the sport’s political pecking order...
Members of the 2017 Astros use various terms to describe Beltrán — El Jefe, the Godfather, the king, the alpha male in the building. Beltrán was 40 that season, capping off a 20-year career, seeking to add to his Hall of Fame resumé. No other person in the Astros’ clubhouse carried the same stature, including McCann, who was 33 that season and a less accomplished player."
all this and Willie Mays and the 1951 Giants are seldom, if ever, discussed when it comes to cheating. They did the same thing the 2017 Astros did...
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
Actual cheating unlike suspected PED use or even known PED use. Also a clear and present benefit to know what pitch is coming...far greater benefit than a suspected PED user(compared to someone who just works out without PED).