Ex-Mets Manager Terry Collins Asserts Carlos Beltran is Being Punished by Hall of Fame Voters

Former Mets manager Terry Collins believes Carlos Beltrán is being punished by the Hall of Fame due to his involvement with the Houston Astros cheating scandal.

9/28/08 3:42:51 PM -- Queens, NY, U.S.A -- The Florida Marlins visit the New York Mets. The Mets hope to make the wildcard as they play the last regular season game at Shea Stadium. -- New York Mets center fielder Carlos Beltran ties game w 2 run hr in the 6th Photo by Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY Staff ORG XMIT: RD 35191 mets 9/28/2008 (Via MerlinFTP Drop) Xxx Mets Rd202 Jpg S Bbn Usa Ny | Robert Deutsch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

As the New York Mets saw former closer Billy Wagner reach the Baseball Hall of Fame in his 10th and final year of eligibility, one notable former Met was unable to earn entry to Cooperstown during the vote on Tuesday.

In his third year of eligibility, former Met outfielder Carlos Beltrán fell just short of the 75% threshold needed for induction, as he received just 70.3% of the vote tallied by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWWA) and will have to wait another year to be a part of baseball's finest.

His former manager, Terry Collins, thinks it's long overdue for Beltrán to reach Cooperstown and thinks the outfielder may be treated unfairly by the voters due to a past controversy. Beltrán was notably the only player named in MLB's investigation report of the Houston Astros' 2017 sign stealing scandal.

"This Astros thing has gotten out of control," Collins said on Tuesday's episode of Baseball Night in New York. "The Hall of Fame are filled with guys who knew what pitches were coming at certain times and I'm a little tired of hearing him being held accountable to be the only guy who was a player at the time...he wasn't even a starting player so it's not like he benefited from what was going on."

Terry Collins and the rest of our panel believe Carlos Beltrán is being unfairly punished for his role in the Astros sign-stealing scandal and that he deserves to be a Baseball Hall of Famer next season@sal_licata @TerryCollins_10 @AlbaneseLaura @AnthonyMcCarron pic.twitter.com/0dggzVSnyi

— SNY (@SNYtv) January 21, 2025

Beltrán was never punished by Major League Baseball after the shocking scandal was made public in January 2020, but it certainly tarnished a bit of his reputation. When the report was released, he was the Mets' manager at the time but would never manage a single game; he and the Mets mutually agreed to part ways on January 16, shortly after the scandal was released with his name being the only player listed.

Despite Beltrán's career batting average of .279 and 435 career home runs, his involvement on the infamous 2017 Astros team seems to be a factor in the BBWAA's decision to not vote him in. However, the outfielder's results on the ballot have improved since his first appearance in 2023; after appearing on 46.1% of the ballots in his first year, Beltrán's percentages have climbed to 57.1 in 2024 and 70.3 this year. With no slam-dunk first ballot candidates for 2026, the Mets' superstar should have a great chance of induction next January.

Five years have passed since the revelation of the Astros' scandal, so it's understandable for Collins to suggest it's time for Beltrán's impressive stats and playing career to speak for themselves.