New York (AFP) – Retired major league All-Star outfielders Carlos Beltran of Puerto Rico and Andruw Jones of Curacao, along with American second baseman Jeff Kent, were inducted Sunday into the Baseball Hall of Fame. In ceremonies at the Hall of Fame’s home city of Cooperstown, New York, Beltran became only the sixth player from his homeland to be enshrined.
“It’s very incredible that I have both of my parents here,” Beltran said. “We brought probably like 150 people from the island, all family members and close friends, so they’re excited and I’m excited too.” Beltran, 49, was a nine-time Major League Baseball All-Star who batted .279 with 2,725 hits, 435 home runs, and 1,587 runs batted in over 20 seasons with seven clubs, closing his career in 2017 by helping the Houston Astros to a World Series title.
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Jones, 49, became the first player from Dutch territory Curacao inducted into the Hall after managing a Netherlands team in this year’s World Baseball Classic that included his son. “Baseball is my life, so to get a chance to represent your country, manage your country and get a chance to coach my son on the professional level, it was fun,” Jones said. He batted .254 with 434 home runs and 1,289 runs batted in over 17 MLB seasons, mostly for Atlanta. He spent two final seasons in Japan before retiring in 2014.
Kent, 58, is a five-time All-Star like Jones, who batted .290 with 2,461 hits, 377 homers, and 1,518 RBI. He spent most of his 17 MLB seasons with San Francisco.
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