BBWAA Elects Carlos Beltran As Steroid-Era Candidates Remain Outside Cooperstown

The BBWAA gatekeepers just delivered a masterclass in selective morality. On Tuesday, the 2026 Hall of Fame results dropped, and Carlos Beltran was the headliner. 

In his fourth year on the ballot, the suspected ringleader of the most sophisticated cheating scandal in baseball history punched his ticket to immortality with 84.2 percent of the vote. 

Andruw Jones joined him after a nine-year climb, finally clearing the line at 78.4 percent.

Shin-Soo Choo received three Hall of Fame votes, which means he, his agent, and one extremely loyal former teammate probably showed up.

Cooperstown Class of 2026:

Carlos Beltran (84.2 percent)
Andruw Jones (78.4 percent)
Jeff Kent (Era Committee)

Former Houston Astros designated hitter Carlos Beltran. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)

Andruw Jones is recognized during the Atlanta Braves pregame Legends Parade. (Photo by Matthew Grimes Jr./Atlanta Braves/Getty Images)

Though Beltran’s election kills the Hall’s so-called Integrity Clause. By clearing the 75 percent threshold by nearly ten points, writers just put a four-year statute of limitations on the 2017 Astros scandal. 

The MLB investigation singled him out as one of the architects of the scheme, yet the same writers who spent a decade hyperventilating over Barry Bonds’ hat size have now decided Beltran’s penance is complete. Total hypocrisy.

The BBWAA forgave a player who cheated on the field to steal a World Series while continuing to blacklist players who cheated in the locker room. 

And while Beltran celebrates, Manny Ramirez freezes.

Manny exhausted his ten years of eligibility and finished with just 38.8 percent of the vote. That ends the conversation forever. Never mind the 555 home runs. 

Never mind the .312 career average. 

Manny is now permanently barred from the writers’ ballot, and the irony is staggering. 

According to the BBWAA, stealing signs with cameras is a character flaw, but failing a drug test is a capital offense.

Manny now sits in the Hall of the Permanently Unforgiven, alongside Alex Rodriguez, who is stuck at 40.0 percent in his fifth year with no momentum in sight.

The writers wiped out nearly every newcomer in one sweep. 

Ryan Braun, a former MVP, managed just 3.5 percent and immediately fell off the ballot. 

Edwin Encarnacion finished at 1.4 percent, Matt Kemp at 0.5 percent, and Daniel Murphy at zero, treated as if they never existed. Only Cole Hamels survived above water at 23.8 percent.

Carlos Beltran of the New York Mets hits a game-winning walk off sacrifice fly against the Arizona Diamondbacks on July 31, 2010 at Citi Field. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

The message was clear … if there is even a hint of PED stink on you, the writers are not interested in a second look.

Felix Hernandez made one of the biggest year-over-year jumps in recent memory, soaring from 20.6 percent to 46.1 percent. Chase Utley climbed to 59.1 percent and now feels inevitable. If the spreadsheets love you long enough, the writers eventually follow.

Eleven writers submitted empty ballots, turning a Hall of Fame vote into a personal protest. All it accomplished was making it harder for every legitimate candidate to reach 75 percent. 

The Class of 2026 will be remembered for Andruw Jones’ glove and Jeff Kent’s RBI totals. It will also be remembered as the year the BBWAA finally stopped pretending to care about integrity. 

Electing Carlos Beltran while burying Manny Ramírez and stalling Alex Rodriguez told you everything you need to know.

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