Carlos Beltran criticizes Mets’ previous ownership and explains Hall of Fame cap decision

Carlos Beltran will be joining Andruw Jones and Jeff Kent as the 2026 inductees to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Beltran had a key decision to make before his plaque was cemented in the history of America’s pastime.

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The 48-year-old enjoyed a 20-year career playing on seven different teams. His most notable stints came with the New York Mets, Kansas City Royals and New York Yankees.

Beltran chose the Mets as the cap he will enter with, despite revealing some telling truths about his time as a player in New York.

“Even though I spent seven years with the New York Mets, I never felt the previous ownership put in any effort to help me truly connect with the city,” Beltran said on the deplaymaker podcast, translated on X.

“I went through so many conflicts, my knees, my injuries, surgeries. I’d look around and think I don’t get it. I work here. I belong to this team.

“But the public message from the organization never really reflected who I was as a person.”

During Beltran’s tenure, they were owned by Fred and Jeff Wilpon, whose leadership was widely hated by fans.

The Wilpons were involved in the infamous Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme, something which tarnished their reputation for the following years.

The team was purchased by Steve and Alex Cohen in 2020 for $2.45 billion, a record for Major League Baseball.

Cohen, a hedge-fund owner with a net worth of $23 billion according to Forbes, is a life-long Mets fan who has brought stability to a franchise in desperate need.

Ultimately, Beltran’s decision to enter the Hall while representing the Mets lies with the Cohens and the changes they have made.

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“The current owners made my decision incredibly easy,” Beltran added.

“Man, they have so much pride in the team. They’ve invested heavily, not just in players, but in the family side of things too.

“They treat families on another level. So when I went through the Hall of Fame process, I told my wife, Jessica, that I want to be a Met.

“Because owners like that? I would have loved to play for them. They give it everything they’ve got.

“They pour their all into it, they also have high expectations because that’s what New York demands, for me, that made the decision easy.”

Mets to retire Beltran’s number in special ceremony

Beltran retired from the MLB in 2017, the year the Houston Astros controversially took home the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

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Beltran was appointed Mets manager in 2019, but didn’t get to don the uniform on-field, stepping down due to the fallout of the sign-stealing scandal.

He currently works in the Mets front office as a special assistant to president of baseball operations David Stearns, and will have his number retired by the team.

Prior to Beltran’s Hall of Fame nod, the Mets originally planned a club Hall of Fame induction that included Beltran, Lee Mazzilli and Bobby Valentine. 

But on Thursday, the Mets said that a ceremony for Mazzilli and Valentine is scheduled for May 30, and that Beltran’s ceremony would be announced “in the coming weeks.”

It’s a move that hints at the possibility the Mets are planning something bigger for Beltran, evidence that despite no World Series’ titles, Steve and Alex have changed the culture of the organization for the better.

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