Beltran Enters Hall Of Fame, Overcoming Costly Decision With Astros

Carlos Beltran is considered to be one of the greatest switch hitters in MLB history. A five-tool player early on in his career with nine All-Star selections, two silver sluggers and three gold gloves, this dude was just meant for Cooperstown.

Set to make a name for himself in the Mets front office following his playing career, the final year of his career ended in tragedy. This involves the sign-stealing scandal, tainting any future plans of front office positions along with keeping him from entering as a first ballot Hall of Famer.

Beltran Finally Elected To Hall of Fame Following Tragic Ending to Career

Now, after three tries, Beltran will finally enter the Baseball Hall of Fame on January 20th, nearly nine years removed from his involvement in the sign-stealing scandal, and seven years from discovering it.

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If this scandal didn't occur, we'd be talking about how great Beltran was as a player. The 48-year old played for 20 seasons, finishing with a 70.0 WAR, .837 OPS, 565 doubles, 1587 RBI, and 1582 runs scored. His 435 career homers ranks fourth all time in home runs by a switch hitter.

Throughout his career, the Puerto Rican native was well respected by teammates and managers. Some even believed he would eventually manage a team in the coming years.

That managing job eventually came to fruition. A definitive first ballot Hall of Famer and managing for the New York Mets, the team you spent most of your career with? What more could you ask for?

Unfortunately, tragedy struck. In 2017, his last season in baseball cleats, Beltran ended up with the Houston Astros.

First Stint With Astros

A familiar face, this was his second stint with Houston. His first dates back to 2004 when the Astros acquired him from the Kansas City Royals, in need of a playoff push. Given Beltran being a rental, he took his new team in stride.

Entering his first time in the playoffs with the Astros, the then 27 year old hit a single-season postseason record with runs scored (21) and tied all-time Home Run leader Barry Bonds with eight postseason home runs. Not to mention mashing one of them each in five consecutive playoff games.

Beltran's wondrous 2004 postseason with Houston finished with a .435 AVG with a 1.557 OPS in 56 total plate appearances. The Astros gladly wanted him re-signed on the team, but the Mets came knocking and secured the switch-hitter for a long-term deal.

Carlos Beltran, Mets — Robert Deutsch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Second Stint and Infamous Final Year

Fast-forwarding to 2017, now 40 years old, and Beltran signs with the Astros as a DH to close out a surefire Hall of Fame career. Although a shell of his former self, father time finds everyone.

Houston didn't sign Beltran in an attempt to relive 2004; they were looking for veteran leadership, whom they've found in him along with veteran catcher Brian McCann. At this time, Houston was looking to find an edge in technology and analytics, making a statement in the MLB. Beltran believed in doing this, they would be back in World Series contention after making the playoffs in 2015 for the first time in a decade. On paper, signing a veteran voice in the clubhouse seemed like a no-brainer and the right fit.

Surprisingly, it was more than that. By now, everyone is fully aware of the sign-stealing scandal that occurred nearly a decade ago. Before pitch comm existed, catchers would relay hand signs to their pitcher on what pitch to throw, a type of pitcher-catcher communication used for decades.

Sign stealing is not prohibited unless technology is used. At home games, the Astros crossed that line using a camera positioned in center field, providing a direct view of the catcher's signs. As soon as the opposing catcher relayed the sign to the pitcher, a trash can was banged in the dugout, indicating what pitch was thrown to the batter.

If you watched Astros home games on TV or attended the games, you could hear the feint bangs coming from the Astros dugout if listened closely. To this day, non-astros fans regard 2017 as a tainted, stolen valor of a championship, taken away from the Los Angeles Dodgers.

How Beltran Nearly Stained His Career

Beltran's contribution to the scandal was one of the culprits leading with the idea along with then bench coach Alex Cora, who now manages the Boston Red Sox. SI's Tom Verducci mentions that Beltran "believed his new team was 'behind the times' in those Wild West days when video and computer-savvy analysts were developing the dark arts of finding an edge."

Beltran even lied telling the New York Post that he wasn't aware of his former team stealing signs electronically and only mentioned the Astros "took a lot of pride studying pitchers on the computer."

A year later after the investigation, commissioner Rob Manfred suspended then manager AJ Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow for a year working in the MLB. Astros Owner Jim Crane outright fired them from their jobs. The team was fined $5 million and lost future first found picks, yet the World Series ring wasn't removed and all the players on the team received immunity.

By then, Beltran had already retired from playing, and took the aforementioned job as the Mets newest manager. That position lasted half an offseason, as the Mets dismissed him a month before the 2020 spring training.

Beltran Comes Clean With Astros Scandal

Beltran hid himself from the MLB spotlight up until 2022, when he became an analyst on YES Network, unofficially exiting baseball exile. He also finally confessed to the media on YES that during his time with the Astros, citing that "we did cross a line."

A year later the Mets, the team that fired Beltran just three years ago, hired him as a special assistant to the front office.

Tainted Season Cools Down

This appeared to be the turning point where his affiliation with the sign-stealing scandal cooled down. And it should've. In contrast, his teammate and friend Alex Cora stayed the Red Sox’s manager after delivering a World Series championship in 2018. Despite being suspended by MLB in 2020 for his involvement, Cora was rehired by Boston as soon as his suspension ended, displaying how quickly accountability stepped aside to continuity.

Aside from Cora, What else has happened, and what do we know now? The only person out of baseball is Jeff Luhnow, who manages a soccer team.

Hinch, off his year long suspension, has been managing the Detroit Tigers since 2021. The Astros are still formidable, cheating or not, and won their second World Series in 2022. The only position players still on the team from 2017 is Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa, both are having solid careers. Former players in George Springer and Alex Bregman are also valuable pieces on their respective teams.

Additionally, what we do know, according to Bob Nightengale, is that other teams also stole signs electronically. "The Yankees and Red Sox were caught relaying signals with their Apple watches and dugout phones, too, and only had their wrists slapped. Other teams had hidden cameras and used similar techniques to the Astros," Nightengale added.

Beltran Deserves To Be In Hall Of Fame

Still believing the Astros were the only ones cheating dictates the necessity of learning to read. Most of baseball fans and Cooperstown believe it's about time Beltran earned his flowers and be honored on the Baseball Hall of Fame.