3 Reasons why Carlos Beltran should be in the Hall of Fame

Carlos Beltran is beyond reproach. Over his 20 seasons in the MLB, Beltran became a baseball icon. The 6-foot-1 Puerto Rican outfielder played for a total of seven teams and went to the All-Star game no less than nine times.

The 1999 Rookie of the Year Award winner topped the 2023 ballot for potential inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Today, we are going to lay out some reasons why he deserves to be there.

"18 years ago today, the Mets made a huge splash in the free agent market by bringing Carlos Beltrán to Queens." - Michael Mayer

3 reasons why Carlos Beltran deserves to be in the Hall of Fame

1. He is a Puerto Rican baseball icon

Beltran has also worn his Puerto Rican identity on his sleeve. Although he currently lives in New York City, he retains close ties with the island that he grew up on. Since his retirement, Beltran has used part of his salary to establish the Carlos Beltrán Baseball Academy in Florida, Puerto Rico.

"The Department of Sports and Recreation along with the Puerto Rico Baseball Federation, announced a 45-game league tournament(March 23-May 19) featuring all well-known High School Academies in the island, including Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy." - Edwin Hernandez Jr.

The 20-acre plot aims to provide baseball training and resources, most of which is facilitated by Beltran. Although players get into the Hall of Fame for their playing, we cannot forget what Carlos Beltran has done for the state of baseball in Puerto Rico.

2. Top 50 in home runs

Carlos Beltran started swinging early in his career and never looked back. He won the 1999 AL Rookie of the Year Award on the heels of a 22 home-run season with the Kansas City Royals.

"This walk-off home run from Carlos Beltran on 6/11/2008 was an absolute missile. He was on his way to posting his second season of at least 7.0 fWAR in three years for the @Mets. #LGM (via MLB)" - Matt Musico

His best season in the dinger department came as a member of the New York Mets when he hit 41 home runs. As of early 2023, Beltran is 47th on the list of all-time home runs with 435 of them in his career, placing him between Hall of Fame inductees Cal Ripken Jr. and Andre Dawson.

3. Highest stolen base rate in the modern age

In addition to his prolific hitting, Beltran was also a profound threat on the basepath. Beltran leads players who have stolen more than 200 bases in stolen base percentage since 1920. With a career success rate of 86.4%, Beltran successful stole base 312 times out of 361 attempts, making him the most successful base stealer of our age.