Carlos Beltran, who helped the Cardinals advance to the 2013 World Series against the Boston Red Sox, is up for induction again after getting 70.3 of the vote a year ago.
The ballot for the 2026 National Baseball Hall of Fame is out, and it includes one former Cardinals player: Carlos Beltran, who played for the organization from 2012-13.
The logistics
--There are 27 former players on the ballot
--A player gets 10 years on the ballot, provided they keep receiving the minimum threshold to stay on.
--A player needs five percent of the vote to stay on the ballot and 75 percent of the vote to earn induction.
--The voting results come out on Jan. 20 and the induction ceremony will be in July of 2026.
About Beltran's career
A 20-year veteran of the Kansas City Royals, Houston Astros, New York Mets, San Francisco Giants, Cardinals, New York Yankees and Texas Rangers, Beltran is one of the most accomplished players of the 2000s.
A Rookie of the Year winner with the Royals in 1999, he was also a nine-time All-Star, a three-time Gold Glove winner, a two-time Silver Slugger and a Roberto Clemente Award winner. He also won the World Series with the 2017 Astros.
He received 70.3 percent of the vote in 2024 and figures to get into the Hall of Fame this time around. It's unclear if he'd choose to represent a specific team in the Hall of Fame, but it certainly wouldn't be the Cardinals, as he only spent two years in St. Louis.
About his Cardinals tenure
Those two years in St. Louis were special, as he hit .282 with 56 home runs (26 and 30, respectively). He was an All-Star in both seasons and helped the Cardinals get to the World Series in 2013. They lost to the Boston Red Sox that year, but he hit .294 in six games, also posting a .400 on-base percentage.
Post-playing career
Beltran was hired to be the manager of the Mets before the 2020 season but was suspended one year by Major League Baseball for his involvement in the Astros' sign-stealing scandal of 2017. He never became the manager and became a member of the Mets front office afterwards before the 2023 season.
Also need to know
--Andruw Jones figures to be the other possible candidate to get into the Hall of Fame this time around, as he received more than 66 percent of the vote in 2024.
--Former pitcher Fernando Valenzuela, who pitched briefly for the Cardinals at the end of his career, is up for the Hall of Fame through the Contemporary Era Baseball Committee.
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