Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones will join Jeff Kent in the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026.
The Baseball Writers Association of America selected both outfielders in its annual voting on Tuesday.
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Kent had already passed Hall’s contemporary era committee vote in December.
Beltran is in his fourth year on the ballot and Jones is in his ninth, meaning he is just two votes away from making the BBWAA ballot.
Over the years, both men needed increasing support to achieve this goal. Beltran received 46.5% of the vote, posting double-digit gains every cycle so far. Jones had an approval rating of just 7.3 percent in his first two years and then 7.5 percent, but began to rise rapidly as the field narrowed.
Beltran and Jones have never faced serious PED charges in their careers, but both have problems with their candidacy that voters may encounter given Hall’s character clause.
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Beltran is a nine-time All-Star who excels on both ends of the floor and has impressive playoff numbers. However, he was also one of the key organizers of the Houston Astros’ cheating scheme in 2017, which helped him win the only World Series ring of his career. He was the only player named in the commissioner’s report on the scandal, and he likely would have been in the Hall sooner had he been on the ballot before the allegations came to light.
Jones, one of the best defensive center fielders in baseball history who won 10 Gold Gloves and hit 51 home runs in 2005, also pleaded guilty to domestic battery charges after he was accused of pulling his wife down a flight of stairs, putting his hands around her neck and threatening to kill her.
The Hall of Fame induction ceremony is scheduled for July 26 in Cooperstown.