NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Carlos Beltran was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the writers on Tuesday night after a stellar career at the plate and being directly tied to the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal.
It’s the ties to the scandal from the Astros’ 2017 World Series season that had baseball fans scratching their heads as to why Beltran received enough votes to meet the threshold.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
Houston Astros designated hitter Carlos Beltran (15) is congratulated by teammates after scoring in the fourth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on July 29, 2017. (Rick Osentoski/USA TODAY Sports)
They sounded off on social media.
MLB’s report following its investigation of the Astros found they broke rules for using electronics to steal signs on their way to winning the 2017 World Series. In the report, Beltran was specifically mentioned as someone who played a major role in it. In fact, he was the only person mentioned in the report.
ROGER CLEMENS, BARRY BONDS MISS OUT ON LATEST CHANCE TO ENTER BASEBALL HALL OF FAME
New York Mets right fielder Carlos Beltran lunges for the ball during the third inning of an MLB baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, April 22, 2011 in New York. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun, File)
This came out as Beltran was about to take on his first season as a manager in MLB, something he’s wanted to do since leaving the game as a player. But the Mets had to move on, eventually hiring Luis Rojas before he was replaced by Buck Showalter at the beginning of last year.
No formal punishment was ever doled out to the players. The Astros’ organization was fined $5 million and lost draft picks. Team owner Jeff Luhnow and then-manager A.J. Hinch were suspended for the 2020 season – which later became affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
Beltran’s numbers at the plate speak for itself.
He was a lifetime .279 hitter with 435 home runs who was a nine-time All-Star and the 1999 American League Rookie of the Year. He played for the Astros, Mets, Kansas City Royals, San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Yankees and Texas Rangers. His career spanned 20 years.
Beltran received 84.2% of the vote – a near 14% increase from last year’s round of voting. Still, no superstars who were tied to MLB’s steroid scandal have been elected.
New York Mets’ Carlos Beltran smiles during an introductory baseball news conference in New York, Nov. 4, 2019. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
He was elected along with former Atlanta Braves star Andruw Jones.
Fox News’ Scott Thompson contributed to this report.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.