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Bradford Doolittle
The center field roster of the Baseball Hall of Fame grew deeper on Tuesday with the announcement that Carlos Beltran and Andruw Jones have been selected for induction.
Beltran was elected in his fourth year of eligibility after being named on 84.2% of the BBWAA ballots, easily clearing the 75 percent threshold for enshrinement. Jones was named on 78.4 percent of the ballots, just clearing the bar to earn election in his ninth and second-to-last year of eligibility.
Beltran and Jones join Jeff Kent, who was elected in December in the Contemporary Era Committee voting, in the Class of 2026.
Beltran, A nine-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glover, hit .279 during his 20-year career with 2,725 hits, 435 homers and 312 stolen bases. He is one of four players to reach 2,700 hit, 400 homers and 300 steals, joining Barry Bonds, Willie Mays and Alex Rodriguez.
Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal tracing back to their 2017 World Series-winning club. His election surely bodes well for other members on that squad who will eventually arrive on the ballot, such as Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, Carlos Correa and George Springer.
Jones will become the first player born in Curacao to be inducted. Best remembered for the legendary defensive prowess he displayed during the first decade his career, Jones is one on just six outfielders to win 10 or more Gold Gloves. He hit .254 with 434 homers during his 17 seasons in the majors.
Jones burst onto the scene in 2006, when at age 19 he homered twice in Game 1 of the 1996 World Series for the Braves against New York at Yankee Stadium. Jones’ candidacy built slowly during his years of eligibility, growing from 7.3 percent in his first season to eventual enshrinement.
Likely holding Jones back in the early years of the process was the decline he displayed after his age-30 season, and domestic violence charges filed against him in 2012, a couple of months after he played his last big league game. He went on to play two seasons in Japan.
