{"id":112725,"date":"2026-01-23T02:05:36","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T07:05:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=112725"},"modified":"2026-01-23T02:05:36","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T07:05:36","slug":"astros-fans-reaction-carlos-beltran-hall-of-fame-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/01\/23\/astros-fans-reaction-carlos-beltran-hall-of-fame-election\/","title":{"rendered":"Astros Fans\u2019 Reaction to Carlos Beltr\u00e1n’s HOF Election"},"content":{"rendered":"

The National Baseball Hall of Fame<\/a> Class of 2026 was officially finalized on Tuesday as Carlos Beltr\u00e1n<\/a> and Andruw Jones<\/a> got elected through the Baseball Writers’ Association of America’s vote alongside Jeff Kent<\/a>, who already made the cut in December thanks to the Contemporary Era Committee vote.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Astros Fans\u2019 Reaction to Carlos Beltr\u00e1n Getting into Cooperstown<\/h2>\n

While Kent, a former Astros All-Star on the 2004 World Series team, finally reached Cooperstown, the name that caught most of the attention in Houston was Carlos Beltr\u00e1n for several reasons.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Former Astro to the Hall<\/h3>\n

While there is no doubt for Beltr\u00e1n\u2019s inclusion<\/a> in the Hall of Fame simply based on his on-field play, his story gets more complicated than that. Statistically, his HOF selection should have been smooth. A 20-year career with 435 home runs, 1,587 RBI, 2,725 hits, 312 stolen bases, and a career OPS of .837. That was not the case.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Astros originally acquired Beltr\u00e1n in a famous 2004 trade deadline deal from the Kansas City Royals, where the superstar center fielder helped lead Houston to their third NLCS appearance in franchise history. Beltr\u00e1n had a historic 2004 postseason where he hit for a .435 average and 1.557 OPS. He blasted eight home runs and drove in 14 runs in 12 games.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Although the Manati, Puerto Rico native did want to stay in Houston, Beltr\u00e1n signed a massive seven-year, $119 million deal with the New York Mets, the biggest in franchise history at the time.<\/p>\n

After bouncing around the league, Beltr\u00e1n decided to return to Houston<\/a> in 2017 and spent the last year of his career with a young, talented Astros team on the rise. Houston went on to win its first World Series in franchise history, and Beltr\u00e1n walked out with his first ring as well. While he didn\u2019t contribute much on the field with a -0.8 WAR and .666 OPS, along with 14 home runs and 51 RBI, his veteran leadership mattered. That veteran presence was seen in a different light later.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Beltr\u00e1n is hall of fame bound!<\/p>\n

Big congratulations to Carlos Beltr\u00e1n on his 2026 election to the @baseballhall<\/a>! pic.twitter.com\/sYMiKnmO7z<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Houston Astros (@astros) January 20, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n