The Houston Astros cheating scandal is now eight years old, and while bitterness and anger still lingers in certain cities and players from that 2017 team still are booed, most resentment stems from the fact there was no real discipline or serious repercussions.
Former Astros players from Alex Bregman to George Springer became rich and famous after hitting the free agent market.
Former Astros manager AJ Hinch is lauded as a savant leading the Detroit Tigers through a turnaround. Former Houston bench coach Alex Cora is worshipped in Boston.
The Astros remain a power, dominating the AL West since 2017 with seven division titles, four American League pennants and two World Series titles.
Really, only one person has ever paid the price.
Carlos Beltrán.
Beltrán, whose career was stellar and was revered off the field, had his baseball life turned upside down.
He was so highly regarded that he was hired to manage the New York Mets just two years after his playing career, only to be fired before managing a single game in the aftermath of the cheating investigation.
He was one of the greatest switch-hitters in baseball history, a recipient of the Roberto Clemente Award for his philanthropic endeavors, but was snubbed three consecutive times in the annual Hall of Fame elections.
Now, Beltrán’s punishment finally is on the threshold of ending.
Beltrán is expected to finally be elected into the hallowed grounds of the Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday, Jan. 20 when the election results are announced.
Beltrán is appearing on 90% of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America ballots according to Ryan Thibodaux’s Hall of Fame ballot tracker. It looks like he’s going to coast and join second baseman Jeff Kent, who was elected in December via the contemporary era committee, along with possibly center fielder Andruw Jones.
It was absurd that he was singled out among all of his teammates in the investigation. He wasn’t the GM. He wasn’t the manager. Not a coach.
He was simply a veteran player who was part of the development of the scheme. The Astros used a center-field camera to relay catcher’s signs to a monitor behind the dugout, which alerted the hitter by banging on a trash can.
The players were given the option of accepting the signs, or disregarding them. If players didn’t want to participate, that was fine too. All-Star second baseman Jose Altuve never took part, his teammates insist, but no one wants to hear it. He still is taunted and incessantly booed on the road.
It’s ridiculous to think that the Astros were the only team stealing signs. The Yankees and Red Sox were caught relaying signals with their Apple watches and dugout phones, too, and only had their wrists slapped. Other teams had hidden cameras and used similar techniques to the Astros.
The Astros affair just happened to be the only team who had a whistle-blower: pitcher Mike Fiers.
“A lot of people always ask me why you didn’t stop it,” Beltrán told the YES network when he was hired in 2022 as an analyst. “And my answer is, I didn’t stop it the same way no one stopped it. This is working for us. Why you going to stop something that is working for you?
“So, if the organization would’ve said something to us, we would have stopped it for sure.”
It was cruel that Beltrán lost his managerial job. He was out of the game – other than broadcasting – until 2023 when the Mets hired him as a special assistant in the front office. They just didn’t want him on the field, with former Mets manager Buck Showalter even forbidden to interview him for a coaching job.
“We grow from moments that are tough,’ Beltrán said when he was hired as a front office assistant. “In life, a lot of times when you’re going through a big storm, you think that storm will never pass.
“But it will pass. Time heals.’
And those wounds should heal Tuesday, Jan. 20, the moment he hears his name announced by Hall of Fame president Josh Rawitch.
And no, Beltrán’s Hall of Fame election should not be tainted in the least.
Did he illegally steal signs? Yep.
But how much did he reap the benefits? He had the worst season of his 20-year career, hitting .231 with 14 homers, 51 RBIs and a .666 OPS.
So please, enough talk about Beltrán’s election tarnishing the purity of the Hall of Fame.
You don’t think the Hall of Fame is filled with pitchers who used spitballs, scuffed baseballs with sandpaper and tacks, and used Vaseline? You may want to Google Gaylord Perry.
You don’t think the Hall of Fame is filled with hitters who stole signs with the help of their teammates or team employees?
You don’t think there are players in the Hall of Fame who used performance-enhancing drugs? And guess who was never, ever, linked to PEDs at any time in his career? That would be Beltrán.
Carlos Beltrán Hall of Fame stats
Beltrán was one of the finest all-around players in MLB history. He’s the only switch-hitter to produce more than 2,500 hits (2,725), hit more than 400 homers (435), and steal 300 bases (312). Beltrán joins Hall of Famers Willie Mays and Andre Dawson, along with Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez, as the only players with 2,500 hits, 400 homers and 300 stolen bases. He was also a brilliant base-stealer, successful in 86.4% of his attempts –the best among all players with at least 200 career steals since 1920.
The nine-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove winner led five different teams to the playoffs. His postseason slash line of.307/.412/.609 is eclipsed only by Babe Ruth, and his 1.021 OPS that ranks eighth among players with at least 100 postseason plate appearances.
He was a fabulous all-around player on the field, a role model in the clubhouse, and still has a huge impact off the field. Beltrán helped fund $10 million for the Carlos Beltrán Baseball Academy in Puerto Rico, a bilingual high school that blends baseball training with academics to prepare students for college or professional careers.
“God gave me an opportunity to make a good living in baseball,’ Beltrán said several years ago when visiting the Hall of Fame with his family. But when I think about legacy, I don’t think about numbers. I think about the impact on the community and on society.
“For me, that’s the legacy.”
Sure, Beltran regrets being an integral part of the Astros’ illegal sign-stealing scheme. He wishes it never happened. He knew teams were illegally stealing signs, and wanted to keep up with the other technology-savvy teams.
He and his teammates took it too far, and he deeply regrets being part of it. He paid the price, more than anyone else in the organization.
Now, it’s his time to be rewarded.
Beltran is a Hall of Famer and will have a plaque in Cooperstown where everyone can recognize and remember him for his greatness.
If you want to remember the cheating scandal of 2017 too, go ahead – but this is his day to forever cherish.
There’s no need to spoil it.
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