Carlos Beltrán's 'record, playing ability' isn't enough for Baseball Hall of Fame

At the turn of the millennium, there were only too many things worrying the American people. Would the financial system collapse thanks to a seemingly minor shift from 1999 to 2000? Would a small code change cause a nuclear meltdown at midnight in any time zone across the world? New Year's Eve in 1999 was a strenuous time, but amidst the chaos, Kansas City Royals fans wondered how long Rookie of the Year Carlos Beltrán would continue to play for their beloved team.

It's been nearly 26 years since his 1999 debut with the Royals, and Beltrán is once again a source of worry. This year, the star outfielder's name is listed on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot, with members of the BBWAA voting on whether or not he deserves to be inducted into Cooperstown. If Beltrán's MLB career had ended any time in the first 12 years after his time in Kansas City did, this would be an easy answer — but unfortunately, it didn't. Now, Beltrán's actions in 2017, and during the subsequent fallout, are what define his legacy.

Beltrán's early career brought much-needed hope to the KC Royals

In his first full MLB season, Beltrán emerged as one of Kansas City's rare highlights. The Royals had just posted a 64-97 record under manager Tony Muser and were several years removed from their last playoff appearance, as well as that glorious 1985 World Series win. Hall of Famer George Brett's tenure was over, and Kansas City desperately needed a star that could replace what the third baseman had brought to the Royals. When Beltrán burst onto the scene in 1999, the first impression was that he might be able provide similar production — and hope — to Brett.

Fast forward to 2004, Beltrán's first All-Star season, and the outfielder was no longer a part of the Royals' plans — team owner David Glass had made sure of that with his notoriously frugal ways. Fans were robbed of their hope of seeing a future Hall of Famer blossom in Kauffman Stadium and give Kansas City a cornerstone to build around. But that doesn't mean Beltrán's Hall of Fame career was dead on arrival.

Beltrán was very well travelled during his time in MLB, playing for six different teams from 2004-2017. His New York Mets tenure really established him as an elite talent, where he accrued five All-Star selections in parts of seven seasons. Even when he entered his late 30s and he was often limited to designated hitting, Beltrán was a player that competitive teams wanted on their 26-man roster.

That journey never brought him back to Kansas City, thanks to the Royals limited window of winning — as well as Glass' continued refusal to spend money.

Instead of retiring in Kansas City, Beltrán ended his career with the team the Royals traded him to in 2004: the Houston Astros. His 2017 season there was his worst ever by many metrics, including a -0.8 bWAR, .666 OPS, or several declining exit velocity marks — Beltrán was a far cry from the player baseball fans had seen five years prior. Still, his team's World Series campaign more than overshadowed his performance at the plate, and instead of talking about his decline, there was likely chatter of his valuable veteran presence, keeping the morale high, and setting a positive example.

Unfortunately, positivity wasn't the only example Beltrán was setting with the Astros in 2017.

Beltrán's involvement with the Astros sign stealing scandal

Not long after the 2019 MLB season wrapped up, The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich reported on the Astros' electronic sign stealing. The report came after speaking with five former Astros players, including World Series-winning pitcher Mike Fiers. He detailed the scheme, from the center field camera to the trash-can banging antics that relayed pitch signs to Houston batters. Many players were somewhat shielded from the first wave of questions after the story broke, but not Beltrán.

In a very sport span of time, things had changed for Beltrán. His playing career had ended in a championship parade, which certainly isn't a bad way to go out. Like many recently retired ball players, Beltrán stayed around the game, and eventually landed the New York Mets manager job in November 2019 — the same month The Athletic's report dropped. As the news shook MLB at all levels, Beltrán was newsworthy for both his recent promotion and his ties with the Astros scandal. He was the man people wanted to hear from, and New York Post columnist Joel Sherman squeezed an answer.

"I'm not aware of that camera," Beltrán said via text message when asked about the cheating. "We were studying the opposite team every day... The game of baseball for years, guys have given location and if the catchers get lazy and the pitcher doesn't cover the signs from second base of course players are going to take advantage. I don't call that cheating. I call that using small details to take advantage. I think baseball is doing a great job adding new technology to make sure the game is even for both teams. It's easy to blame someone when they win."

It is easy to blame the team or people on top, sure — but after MLB's final finding, Beltrán's vehement denial aged like a Kansas crab cake in the sun. His statement became the sole voice heard by fans for months, as the Astros maintained silence and former players, fearing punishment from the league or retaliation from their peers, followed suit.

All in all, Beltrán was the only Astros player named in the league's final findings. The veteran was lumped in with A.J. Hinch and Alex Cora as the leaders and primarily responsible for the sign-stealing scheme's inception and continuation. Should fans be surprised when Beltrán's tone changed immediately after cheating cost him the Mets job?

"As a veteran player on the team, I should've recognized the severity of the issue and truly regret the actions that were taken," Beltrán said via a statement. "I am a man of faith and integrity and what took place did not demonstrate those characteristics that are so very important to me and my family. I'm very sorry. It's not who I am as a father, a husband, a teammate and as an educator."

Beltrán hasn't exactly faced ostracism from baseball since that statement. He found an on-air role with the YES Network ahead of the 2022 MLB season, and moved on to the Mets front office in 2023. Is this an example of failing upwards, going from a career-tainting cheating scandal to being a Special Assistant to the President of Baseball Operations? Fans would be hard-pressed to find a better example of that in the baseball world.

Now, nearly a decade since he last played a MLB game, Beltrán's name is listed on the Hall of Fame ballot. As he looks primed for another jump in voting and possible induction into Cooperstown, voters are forced to ask themselves if Beltrán's playing performance overshadows his proven role in baseball's latest — and arguably biggest — cheating scandal.

From immediately after the initial report and to this day, Astros fans defend that 2017 championship with a blanket defense, and to be fair, claims that everyone steals signs or teams are always cheating and toeing the line aren't exactly wrong. MLB is a multi-billion dollar enterprise that centers around 27 outs and plenty of possible outcomes within those outs. Any team cheating is trying to help sway their results across those 27 outs — simple as that.

Still, winning the World Series doesn't excuse the improper means used to get there, and especially as baseball faces an identity crisis, being caught cheating shouldn't be swept aside as just an inevitable part of competition.

Ineffective cheating is still cheating

Beltrán was not merely a passive participant who disregarded the trash cans and the infrastructure of the scheme. According to Drellich's 2023 book Winning Fixes Everything, Beltrán actively enforced the system, reprimanding Astros staffers for not having all the necessary components in place before a 2017 game. That book casts an even darker shadow over Beltrán, including naming him as the system's biggest beneficiary, dwarfing many Astros players that are still in MLB. Sure, the system obviously did not help Beltrán much — his 2017 batting stats are evidence of that — but his enforcing it certainly assisted those around him.

There are conflicting conclusions on how much the Astros did and did not benefit from stealing signs, as well as how they even did it. Baseball Prospectus writer Rob Arthur concluded, “the net effect of the banging comes astonishingly close to being zero. Nothing. Statistically, for all the work and effort that went into the cheating scheme, the grand result of it, at least as measured in this way, turned out to be no runs at all.” Meanwhile, the deployment of the system led statisticians to discover improved plate discipline and batted ball metrics for Houston batters.

Opinions are mixed, but at the end of the day, the Astros won in 2017 and parts of 2018 for a number of reasons — not just because of banging on trash cans. Still, the system's existence should not be ignored simply because it wasn't necessarily effective.

The Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) has a clear set of rules when it comes to Hall of Fame voting, the majority of which are routine and procedural in nature. Yet, Rule 5 always draws the most attention whenever a player does or doesn't get the call to Cooperstown.

"Voting shall be based upon the player's record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played."

There's a lot of gray area in those words — character, integrity, sportsmanship. Those factors have kept many players, stars in their time, out of the Hall of Fame. Barry Bonds, arguably one of the most recognizable baseball players in the last three decades, will never have a bust on Cooperstown. Alex Rodriguez's own demons haunt his baseball legacy and will likely keep him out of the Hall of Fame. Andruw Jones, Omar Vizquel, and Manny Ramirez have their own off-field issues and appear on this year's ballot alongside Beltrán. Rule 5 is a must-read for any voter, and it can't be edited to exclude anything beyond the player's record and playing ability.

Did the Astros sign-stealing operation exemplify integrity? Should coaches bring up the system to their Little League players as an example of sportsmanship? Do the cameras and interviews reveal Beltrán's character, or does his role in leading this career-altering cheating system show it best?

Beltrán's actions undoubtedly helped continue a cheating system that goes against what any baseball fan stands for. Winning does fix everything, but how that winning happens determine's one's legacy. Beltrán's on-field performance warrants a bust in Cooperstown, but his 2017 actions should keep his face out of the Hall of Fame forever.