An estimated crowd of 12,000 people watched Carlos Beltrán, Andruw Jones and Jeff Kent get inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday, July 26, at The Clark Sports Center in the town of Middlefield.
Although the attendance was smaller than many recent inductions, the fans there had a particular favorite in Beltrán. Puerto Ricans flags and New York Mets jerseys were the biggest symbols of the weekend. There were also Jones jerseys, in particular from Atlanta fans, and Houston jerseys for Beltrán and Kent, who played together for the Astros in 2004.
“Playing for the Mets made me a better man and a better leader,” Beltrán said. “The Mets cap represents to me growth and it represents where I became the best version of myself.”
Beltrán gave part of his induction speech in Spanish, thanking his parents, who were in the crowd, as well as thanking his fans for bringing Puerto Rico to Cooperstown. He choked up while thanking his wife, Jessica, and their kids.
A five-tool player, nine-time All-Star, three-time Gold Glove Award winner and the 1999 American League Rookie of the Year, Beltrán also won the 2013 Roberto Clemente Award. In 20 seasons in the major leagues, he hit.279 with 435 home runs, 2,725 hits, 1,587 RBI and 312 stolen bases. His 86.4% success rate on stolen bases was the best rate of anyone with more than 300 steals.
All three inductees had the benefit of being helped by older veterans who proceeded them into the Hall.
Beltrán said he learned from George Brett in Kansas City and Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio in Houston.
For Jones, who became the eighth person involved with the Atlanta Braves 1990s championship teams to be inducted, he said his teammates John Smoltz and Chipper Jones, as well as manager Bobby Cox, were key to his success. He said growing up he wanted to be like Ken Griffey Jr. but would never have gotten the chance to be like Ken without coaching from his dad, who was also a center fielder.
“He passed down every bit of knowledge of the game to me,” Jones said, “like how to read fly balls off the bat. He hit fly balls with me from foul pole to foul pole in Curaçao, so I could track balls down because the ocean breeze makes tracking balls very difficult on the island.”
The first player from Curaçao to be inducted into the baseball Hall, Jones made part of his speech in his native Papiamento.
The best fielding center fielder of his generation, Jones won 10 Gold Glove Awards, tied for third behind Clemente and Willie Mays. He also had 434 home runs in 17 seasons, with 1,289 RBI.
Jones was 19 when he played for the Braves in the 1996 World Series. In Game 1, he became the fourth player to debut in a World Series with back-to-back home runs.
Kent’s induction opened the ceremony, and he discussed how Dave Winfield saw something in him while Kent was a rookie in Toronto.
Dusty Baker, Kent’s manager in San Francisco, said in the video introduction, it was rare to see Kent smile or show emotion. So, he said he wanted to see what would happen during the induction. Kent did smile and he nearly broke down several times, when discussing his dad, his family and his time breaking into the business. He said his dad offered to buy him a truck if he would stop racing, a decision that changed his life. The memory caused Kent to finally break down.
“There were more important things in my life than baseball,” Kent said. “One of them was a pickup truck. When I was 16 years old, I was racing motorcycles and driving my great-grandparents’ old Plymouth Volaré. My dad knew motorcycles weren’t taking me anywhere, so he made me a bet: If I were to earn a college scholarship, that he’d buy me a pickup truck.
“I quit racing and focused on school and baseball, and won that baseball scholarship,” Kent said. “I got that truck. That truck is still with me. It sits in my garage as a simple reminder that some of the simplest things can change the entire direction of your life.”
Kent played 17 seasons and had a .290 batting average with 370 home runs, including the most by a second baseman, as well as 560 doubles. He had 2,461 total hits. He and Cal Ripken Jr. are the only middle infielders with at least 350 home runs, 550 doubles, 1,500 RBI, 1,300 runs and 800 walks.
Counting the new inductees, 60 Hall of Famers were in attendance Sunday, a record according to Hall officials. Ninety-year-old Sandy Koufax and 88-year-old Juan Marichal were among the oldest attendees, as was 80-year-old Reggie Jackson, who got one of the loudest ovations from the crowd. Iván Rodríguez, another native Puerto Rican, also drew a big cheer.
Hall of Fame Board Chair Jane Forbes Clark opened the ceremony by paying tribute to the three Hall of Famers who have died in the past year: Ryne Sandberg, Bobby Cox and Bill Mazeroski.
The 2027 Induction will take place Sunday, July 25. Buster Posey is the top new candidate eligible for the ballot and Chase Utley is the top returning vote getter. For 2026, Utley was named on 59.1% of the ballots from the Baseball Writers Association of America members. For induction, 75% of the vote is needed. Andy Pettitte, who got 48.1% for 2026, will be on his 10th and final year on the ballot.
The Contemporary Era Committee will consider managers, executives and umpires. Baker, the longtime San Francisco manager, who also led Houston to a World Series title in 2023, will be a top candidate.