Beltrán, Jones and Kent enshrined in Baseball Hall of Fame as record 60 living members gather

Ceremony in Cooperstown

An estimated crowd of 12,000 filled the Clark Sports Center on a sun-splashed Sunday afternoon to watch Carlos Beltrán, Andruw Jones and Jeff Kent receive baseball's highest honor. A record 60 living Hall of Famers attended, with the 57 previously inducted members seated on stage behind the new class. The gathering surpassed any previous induction, though it was smaller than the 30,000 who came in 2025 for Ichiro Suzuki and CC Sabathia.

David Ortiz, introduced first among the returning Hall of Famers, rose to help the 80-year-old Rod Carew to his seat, a gesture that underscored the fraternity of the museum's members.

International pride

Beltrán became the sixth Puerto Rican in the Hall of Fame, joining Roberto Clemente, Orlando Cepeda, Roberto Alomar, Iván Rodríguez and Edgar Martínez. Chants of "Puerto Rico" broke out before he spoke, and flags waved each time he mentioned the island.

Everywhere I played baseball, I always tried to represent my island. I tried to do the best I could for the organizations that I played, but also I wanted to represent Puerto Rico.

Jones is the first player from Curaçao to be enshrined. He called his speech a love letter to the island, more than 2,000 miles from Cooperstown, and said he does not plan to be the last, pointing to Ozzie Albies and Kenley Jansen as part of the legacy started by Hensley "Bam Bam" Meulens.

There's no easy way to get here from the small island of Curaçao, more than 2,000 miles away. But today Cooperstown and Curaçao are forever joined together.

José Reyes, a former Mets teammate of Beltrán, described him as a shy person who does much for people in Puerto Rico. "Lo considero mi hermano mayor, lo quiero mucho y quería estar aquí por él," Reyes said.

Long roads to immortality

None of the three reached Cooperstown quickly. Beltrán was elected by the Baseball Writers' Association of America in his fourth year on the ballot. Jones gained entry in his ninth year of eligibility. Kent never received more than 46.5% of the writers' vote during his 10 years on the ballot and was elected by the contemporary baseball era committee last December.

Kent, a 20th-round pick of the Toronto Blue Jays out of Cal in 1989, recalled his father offering to buy him a pickup truck if he earned a college baseball scholarship. That truck still sits in his garage. He hit 351 of his 377 career home runs as a second baseman, the most ever at the position, and won the 2000 National League MVP award with the San Francisco Giants.

The simplest things can change the entire direction of your life.

Beltrán, who retired in 2017 after 2,586 games and 435 home runs, is the only switch-hitter in major-league history with at least 400 homers and 300 stolen bases. His postseason slash line of.307/.412/.609 across five teams showed a player built for October.

Speeches and reflections

Beltrán opened by comparing the moment to his first big-league at-bat, excited and nervous. He thanked every organization he played for but reserved his deepest words for the New York Mets, the team on his plaque.

Every organization shaped my career. New York shaped my life. It was here where I experienced my greatest success and some of my greatest challenges. It represents a place where I became the best version of myself.

Kent called San Francisco home, the place where every lesson came together. Johnny Bench told him before the ceremony, "You belong."

Jones paid tribute to his late father, Henry Jones, who hit him flyballs from foul pole to foul pole and taught him to build wrist strength by rolling a sledgehammer. "Everything he taught me had a purpose," Jones said. "Dad, we did it."

A class of travelers

All three inductees played for at least five franchises. Beltrán suited up for seven teams, Kent for six, Jones for five. Each chose a single team for his plaque: Beltrán the Mets, Kent the Giants, Jones the Atlanta Braves. Beltrán said the journey itself was a blessing, and that watching teammates like Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell play through pain in Houston left a lasting impression. The Hall's membership now stands at 354.