Carlos Beltran to the Hall of Fame is the right call, his rookie card was a mistake
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Carolos Beltran's 1995 Topps Traded rookie card features another player's picture: Juan LeBron. In turn, LeBron's card features Beltran's photo. It's a hobby blunder that keeps resurfacing, as Beltran is a favorite to enter the Hall of Fame this year.
Baseball Hall of Fame ballots were mailed to voters last week, without an obvious candidate to make it to Cooperstown. It appears that the player with the greatest chance of being voted in is Carlos Beltran, who received 70.3% of the vote in his fifth year on the ballot.
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Twelve players will be on the Hall of Fame ballot for their first time! A player must receive 75% of the vote from the BBWAA to be elected into Cooperstown.
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) November 17, 2025
They join 15 other players from last year's ballot, including Carlos Beltrán (70.3%) and Andruw Jones (66.2%) pic.twitter.com/KGz4Hl7GRo
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Beltran was a nine-time All-Star, won three Gold Gloves, and has a career WAR of 70, which ranks him 9th all-time among center fielders. Beltran finished with 435 home runs, 1,587 RBI, 1,582 runs, and 312 stolen bases with a .279 batting average. It's apparent he soon will be inducted into the Hall of Fame, so naturally, some collectors might be thinking about buying his rookie card.
Well, there's a twist. Collectors might need to buy two cards.
Beltran was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in 1995 out of Puerto Rico. That same year, the Royals also drafted another Puerto Rican outfielder named Juan LeBron. LeBron was actually the more highly regarded prospect at the time, drafted in the first round with the 19th overall pick. Beltran was drafted in the 2nd round with the 49th overall pick.
As top-rated prospects, both players were included in the 1995 Topps Traded & Rookies set. However, Topps made a big error. Beltran's picture appeared on LeBron's card, and LeBron's picture appeared on Beltran's card.
According to Baseballcardpedia, "Topps never corrected the error, and card #18T (the one labelled "Carlos Beltran" but sporting the photo of Juan LeBron) is considered Beltran's 'true' rookie. Juan LeBron's card (#12T), which has Beltran's photo, does sell for a premium, but is NOT Carlos Beltran's rookie card."
According to Card Ladder, LeBron's card has been graded by PSA 248 times. There are 45 PSA 10s with the most recent sale of $179.99. However, Beltran's card - with LeBron's picture - has been graded 2,470 times by PSA, yielding 323 PSA 10s. The most recent sale was for $279 on eBay. Prices may begin to inch upward as Beltran's Hall of Fame case strengthens.
Beltran's first Topps card sparks some hobby chatter, as his rookie card will forever be linked to LeBron. It may be getting more scrutiny now that Beltran is on the doorstep of baseball immortality.
Horacio is an avid sports card collector and writes about trending card auctions and news across several major hobby sites, including Sports Collectors Daily and Collectibles on SI.
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