Royals 9x All-Star Predicted To Reach Hall of Fame in 2026
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The Kansas City Royals have had a busy offseason, but fans of the team are also waiting to see if one of the all-time greats will make it to the Hall of Fame in 2025.
Outfielder Carlos Beltran has been retired since 2017. He fell short in his first two years on the ballot, but he could always gain more of the vote this year or possibly next year.
Beltran's first year on the ballot was 2023, and the controversy surrounding the 2017 Houston Astros was still fresh. But after a few years, perhaps things have changed.
Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report predicts that the Royals legend will fall short this year but will be set up well to make it to the Hall in 2026.
"It looked like Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones might get over the hump in 2025 after another solid bump in support a year ago, but both standout center fielders will likely have to wait until 2026 to get the call," Reuter wrote.
"As it stands, Beltrán is actually over the 75 percent threshold, but he had a wide 21.9 percent support gap between public and private ballots a year ago, so expect his final total to be quite a bit lower than where things currently stand. That said, he is still trending in the right direction."
Beltran played the first seven seasons of his career with the Royals. He was the American League Rookie of the Year in 1999, earned two Silver Slugger Awards, three Gold Gloves and nine All-Star nods. He also won the Roberto Clemente Award in 2013 when he was with the St. Louis Cardinals.
The slugger slashed .279/.350/.486 with 435 home runs, 1,587 RBI and an .837 OPS in his career. He also posted a 70.1 WAR.
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Curt Bishop is a freelance sports writer who graduated from Maryville University of St. Louis with a Bachelor of Arts degree in the field of Communication and currently writes as a contributor for various platforms covering Major League Baseball. Curt’s work includes covering trade and free agency predictions, as well as rumors and news.
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