Baseball Hall of Fame induction welcomes Beltrán, Jones and Kent

The baseball hall of fame induction in Cooperstown brought three new plaques to town Sunday, with Carlos Beltrán, Andruw Jones and Jeff Kent formally joining the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum’s 2026 class.

According to CBS Sports, thousands of fans attended the ceremony on the lawn outside the Clark Sports Center in Cooperstown, New York. The Hall’s 2026 group is its smallest since the two-person class of Fred McGriff and Scott Rolen in 2022.

Who was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2026?

• Carlos Beltrán, an outfielder, was elected by the Baseball Writers Association of America.
• Andruw Jones, an outfielder, was also elected by the Baseball Writers Association of America.
• Jeff Kent, a second baseman, was chosen by the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee.

The BBWAA vote is the main writers’ ballot for Hall candidates. The Contemporary Baseball Era Committee, according to CBS Sports, is a 16-person group made up of Hall of Famers, executives and historians, with 12 votes needed for induction.

Carlos Beltrán reached Cooperstown in year four on the ballot

Beltrán, the 1999 American League Rookie of the Year, played from 1998 through 2017 and was selected to nine All-Star teams, according to CBS Sports. He will be shown on his Hall plaque wearing a Mets cap.

His career totals: 2,725 hits, 435 home runs and 312 stolen bases. CBS Sports noted that he is one of five players to combine at least 400 homers with at least 300 steals, alongside Barry Bonds, Andre Dawson, Willie Mays and Alex Rodriguez.

Beltrán also built a heavy October résumé, batting .307/.412/.609 across 65 postseason games. His 2004 run with the Astros included eight home runs in 12 playoff games, and he won his only World Series ring with Houston in 2017, a title later tied to the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal.

During his speech, Beltrán thanked Mets fans, saying, “You challenged me. You let me know when I needed to be better, and that was a lot of times.” He also spoke directly to his children: “You're always going to have a dad cheering for you guys.”

Andruw Jones finally cleared the writers’ bar

Jones made it in on his ninth BBWAA ballot, with his support rising from 7.3% in his first year to 78.4% this year, according to CBS Sports.

His Cooperstown case started with a famous October blastoff. At 19 years and 180 days old, Jones became the youngest player to hit two homers in a World Series game, doing it in Game 1 of the 1996 Series. CBS Sports reported that Mickey Mantle, the previous record holder, had been more than a year older.

Jones won 10 straight Gold Gloves from 1998 through 2007 and hit at least 26 home runs every year in that span, including 51 in 2005. He played for five teams from 1996 to 2012 and finished with 1,933 hits and 434 home runs.

In his speech, Jones said Ken Griffey Jr. was “my guy” because he never got to watch Willie Mays play. He also thanked Chipper Jones, saying, “The Jones boys are in Cooperstown now.”

Jeff Kent got in through the committee route

Kent was selected in December by the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee after spending 10 years on the BBWAA ballot from 2014 through 2023, CBS Sports reported. He received 14 of 16 committee votes and was the only player picked by that group.

On the writers’ ballot, Kent never topped 46.5% support. His Hall résumé includes the 2000 National League Most Valuable Player Award, five All-Star selections, 377 career home runs as a second baseman and eight seasons of at least 100 RBI, according to the Hall of Fame plaque text shared by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

This story draws on original reporting from CBS Sports.