rewrite this content and keep HTML tags
While it’s often tough to predict the results of a Baseball Hall of Fame ballot, it’s clear there are only two candidates who have a legitimate shot to get the call this year.Â
Andruw Jones and Carlos Beltran should earn induction as part of the Baseball Writer’s Association of America’s 2026 class. And that’s it.Â
Both predominant center fielders finished with 2025 voting totals that often foreshadow eventual induction. Beltran got 70.3% of the vote on his third year on the ballot and Jones received 66.2% on his eighth try. Beltran benefited from a 13.2% vote increase from the year before and Jones just a slight uptick of 4.6%.Â
Why Carlos Beltran, Andruw Jones are both deserving Hall of FamersÂ
Despite falling off a proverbial cliff in his final seasons, Jones still finished with 434 home runs, 1,289 RBI, an OBP of .337 and a slug of .486. Jones, who boots a bWAR of 62.7, also has some hardware of 10 Gold Gloves to highlight his case as one of the most complete players of his era.Â
As for Beltran, his numbers slightly exceed Jones. The native of Puerto Rico posted career slash-line marks of a .279 average, a .350 OBP and a the same slugging percentage of .486. Statistically, Beltran hit 435 home runs, drove in 1,587 runs and stole 312 bases.
