Press Release: Carlos Beltran to wear Mets Hat on Hall Of Fame Plaque

 

Carlos Beltran, 2011 Topps Heritage Card

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Feb. 3, 2026

Cap Selections Announced for Class of 2026

--  Carlos Beltrán, Andruw Jones and Jeff Kent  to be Inducted July 26 in Cooperstown -- (COOPERSTOWN, N.Y.) – The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum has announced the logos that will appear on the caps of the members of the Class of 2026.   Carlos Beltrán played for seven teams during his 20-year MLB career, including seven with the Mets, whose logo will adorn Beltrán’s plaque. Five of his nine All-Star Game selections and each of his three Gold Glove Awards and two Silver Slugger Awards were earned with the Mets.   “I didn’t do this alone,” said Beltrán, who was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America on Jan. 20 along with Andruw Jones. “Every team I played for shaped my journey, and I’m grateful to all of them. With the Mets, I experienced my greatest individual growth and success. I’m honored that my Hall of Fame plaque will feature the Mets logo, and I’m proud that every team I played for will be listed on the plaque.”   Jones played 12 of his 17 big league seasons with the Braves and earned each of his 10 Gold Glove Awards and five All-Star Game selections with Atlanta. His Hall of Fame plaque will feature a Braves logo.   “The Braves were the team that gave me my first opportunity to chase the dream I wanted since I was a little kid,” Jones said. “I am proud to wear the ‘A’ on my plaque, which will also pay tribute to all my teams. I am most appreciative of all the cities and franchises I represented.”   Jeff Kent, who was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee in December, will be depicted with a Giants logo on his Hall of Fame plaque. Kent played six of his 17 big league seasons with the Giants, more than any of his other five franchises, winning the 2000 National League Most Valuable Player Award with San Francisco and then helping the Giants win the National League pennant in 2002.   “Each of the stops along my career path was important to me, but it was with the Giants where I had the most success and spent the most time during my career,” Kent said. “I am grateful to all my teammates, managers, coaches, friends and fans who supported me and helped make this plaque in Cooperstown a reality.”   The Hall of Fame Class of 2026 will be formally inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday, July 26 in Cooperstown, N.Y., as the highlight of a four-day celebration of baseball and their careers as part of Hall of Fame Weekend 2026, July 24-27. The Induction Ceremony is scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. ET and will be televised live on MLB Network.   Each Hall of Fame plaque will be revealed immediately prior to each electee’s induction speech on July 26. The Hall of Fame plaque, which serves to reflect the totality of a career, details an individual’s accomplishments in the game in approximately 90 words, while listing each team on which an individual played or managed. An artist rendering of the individual being honored tops the Hall of Fame plaque, and in many instances, a cap, where a logo may or may not be featured, is included.   Hall of Fame Weekend 2026 will also feature the Saturday, July 25 Awards Presentation, when Ford C. Frick Award winner Joe Buck and BBWAA Career Excellence Award winner Paul Hoynes will each be honored. The Weekend will include family programming for baseball fans of all ages, including the July 25 Parade of Legends and a July 27 live podcast taping of The Road to Cooperstown with the three inductees at Doubleday Field.   More than 50 Hall of Famers are expected to return for Hall of Fame Weekend, with the full list of returnees to be announced in early July, to honor the Class of 2026 at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.   The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is an independent not-for-profit educational institution, dedicated to fostering an appreciation of the historical development of baseball and its impact on our culture by collecting, preserving, exhibiting and interpreting its collections for a global audience as well as honoring those who have made outstanding contributions to our National Pastime. Opening its doors for the first time on June 12, 1939, the Hall of Fame has stood as the definitive repository of the game’s treasures and as a symbol of the most profound individual honor bestowed on an athlete. It is every fan’s "Field of Dreams," with its stories, legends and magic shared from generation to generation.