Carlos Beltran to wear Mets cap on Hall of Fame plaque
The Mets signed free agent outfielder Carlos Beltran to a seven-year contract on Jan. 11, 2005. Credit: Newsday/Julia Gaines
Tom Seaver and Mike Piazza are finally getting some company.
Carlos Beltran, one of two players to be voted into Cooperstown this year, will go into the Hall of Fame wearing a Mets cap – only the third player to do so, the Hall announced Tuesday. The nine-time All Star outfielder played for seven teams in his 20-year career and currently serves as special assistant to Mets president of baseball operations, David Stearns.
“I didn’t do this alone,” Beltran said in a statement. “Every team I played for shaped my journey, and I’m grateful to all of them. With the Mets, I experienced my greatest individual growth and success. I’m honored that my Hall of Fame plaque will feature the Mets logo, and I’m proud that every team I played for will be listed on the plaque.”
Beltran spent seven seasons with the Mets, earning All-Star nods five times while playing in Flushing. The career .279 hitter slashed .280/.369/.500 as a Met and hit 149 of his 435 homers. He is third in position player WAR for the franchise, behind David Wright and Darryl Strawberry, and sixth in on-base percentage and slugging percentage. Already a member of the Mets Hall of Fame, he also won all three of his Gold Glove Awards and both of his Silver Sluggers with the team.
Andruw Jones, also elected this year, will represent Atlanta.
“I am proud to wear the ‘A’ on my plaque, which will also pay tribute to all my teams,” Jones said in a statement. “I am most appreciative of all the cities and franchises I represented.”
Laura Albanese is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. She's been covering MLB since 2014 after starting at Newsday as an intern seven years earlier.
