Throughout his career, Beltran has seen it all. The Puerto Rican star played through three different decades: 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s, and he managed to put up incredible numbers in each one of them.

Beltran won a Rookie of the Year award in 1999, earned multiple All-Star selections while taking home Silver-Slugger and Gold Glove awards in the 2000s, and he capped it all off with a World Series title in 2017. As a result, in 2026 Beltran will be immortalized as he enters MLB‘s Hall of Fame.

Mets or Yankees?

However, as he had to choose which club to represent, a dilemma between the Yankees and Mets emerged for the 48-year-old legend. Now, Beltran has made his decision public, favoring one of the two clubs in the New York metro area.

Beltran, who recently warned the NY Mets about Francisco Lindor ahead of the 2026 World Baseball Classic, has now chosen the Orange and Blue over the Pinstripers. “Carlos Beltran will enter Cooperstown with a Mets cap on his plaque,” as reported by Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.

“With the Mets, I experienced my greatest individual growth and success,” Carlos Beltran admitted when explaining his decision. “I’m honored that my Hall of Fame plaque will feature the Mets logo.”

When will Beltran be inducted into the Hall of Fame?

The event honoring the MLB Hall of Fame class of 2026 will take place on July 26th, 2026. The Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held at the Clark Sports Center in Cooperstown, New York.

Shortly after MLB Players’ Association (MLBPA) announced Lindor won’t play for Puerto Rico in the WBC, Beltran—who played for both the Yankees and Mets in his Hall of Fame career—admitted the Puerto Rican national team is not going down without a fight, leaving the door open for Lindor to join the squad in the upcoming international stage.

“The past few days haven’t been easy for me as general manager, nor for Puerto Rico’s baseball federation,” Beltran publicly stated, referring to the MLBPA’s announcement. “The events that transpired are situations that are a part of the [WBC]. We understand them, and they don’t change our commitment. Today, more than ever, we are focused and determined to do everything we can to bring the best possible talent.”

As reported by Puerto Rican news outlet Primera Hora, Beltran and the national team are holding on to the hope of adding Lindor to the lineup for the WBC. However, as the star shortstop underwent surgery on his right elbow in October, the odds aren’t looking too promising for the ‘Team Rubio’.

Puerto Rico will keep pushing for Lindor to play

“We continue to work, in dialogue with the WBC and MLB, searching for the best possible solutions, and doing what’s best for our country,” Beltran stated, via Primera Hora.

As Beltran admitted, he has Puerto Rico’s best interests at hand—not those of the Mets or the Yankees—despite his strong ties to the New York clubs and what taking Lindor away from the Mets could mean during such a crucial stretch ahead of Opening Day 2026.

Though most signs indicate Lindor will not be allowed to play for Puerto Rico, the Mets shouldn’t take Beltran’s warning for granted. When they least expect it, Lindor could dye his hair blonde and join ‘Team Rubio’ as they compete in Pool A of the Round Robin, which will be held in San Juan, Puerto Rico—the capital of the Island of Enchantment.

Although he ultimately put together an outstanding season statistically, Soto admitted that he struggled to find his footing early on, and a former MLB star with a similar Mets background played a key role in helping him through it: Carlos Beltran.

“He shared that the same thing happened to him once when he was really struggling in New York,” Soto said during an interview on Siendo Honestos with Katherine Hernandez, as translated by The Post. “Everyone was piling on and the pressure was intense. To get through it, he started carrying a card with all his stats written on it.

“Every time he looked at it, he reminded himself: this is who I am as a player, not the version everyone else is trying to paint. That simple mental reset helped him break out of the slump.”

Soto regained his form

Juan Soto’s debut season with the New York Mets was a tale of two halves, proving why he was worth every penny of his historic 15-year, $765 million contract. After bolting from the Bronx to Queens, the four-time All-Star initially struggled to find his rhythm, battling a slow start that saw him hitting just .241 with three home runs and 12 RBIs through the end of April.

However, as the weather warmed, so did Soto’s bat; he silenced restless fans at Citi Field by putting together a monster campaign that saw him set new career highs with 43 home runs and 38 stolen bases. His remarkable recovery led him to a third-place finish in the National League MVP race, as he anchored the Mets’ lineup and solidified his status as one of the premier offensive forces in baseball.

Beltran’s legacy in Queens

Carlos Beltran‘s legacy with the Mets serves as a powerful reminder that elite talent often requires time to adjust to the bright lights of New York. Despite earning an All-Star nod in 2005, his debut season was marred by career lows and a traumatic on-field collision that hindered his production.

However, Beltran silenced his critics the following year by launching an elite three-year stretch where he averaged 33 home runs and 113 RBIs while securing three consecutive Gold Gloves, ultimately cementing his status as one of the greatest all-around players in franchise history.

Some argue that it’s a part of the game and that other teams should be to blame for allowing their signs to be stolen. Others state that it’s one thing to come up with your rivals’ signs and another to use technology to steal from them.

Wherever you stand, you can only agree that the World Series title will always carry an asterisk next to it. If not, just ask Carlos Beltran, one of the biggest names involved in this scandal.

MLB News: Carlos Beltran Admits 2017 World Series Title Is ‘Stained’

“Looking back now, yes, we did cross the line,” Beltran told Michael Kay.“Yeah, there is (a stain) because, you know what we did. And we all have taken responsibility and at some point we all have shown remorse about what we did.”

“We all did what we did,” the 9-time All-Star continued. “Looking back today, we were wrong. I wish I would’ve asked more questions about what we were doing. I wish the organization would’ve said to us, ‘Hey man, what you guys are doing, we need to stop this.’”

“Nobody really said anything,” Beltran said. “We’re winning, you know, and some days our system really worked. Some days [it] didn’t really work … but we had a good team … we had such a good team.”

Astros Thought Other Teams Were Stealing Signs From Them

Beltran was pointed out as the mastermind behind the sign-stealing scheme. However, he claims that the initiative came from several players who thought other teams were doing the same against them:

“(Some players) felt that when teams are coming to our ballpark [Minute Maid Park], we felt that some teams have something going on,” Beltran admitted. “So we felt that we needed to create our own [system], you know, and that’s what happened.”

“We’re seeing the game … you get to see the pitchers, you get to see the catchers,” Beltran explained. “And then we felt that we could use that, you know, but we didn’t feel that we were really crossing the line there. We didn’t feel we were really crossing the line. We felt in our hearts that we were being more efficient and smarter than any team out there.”

The Front Office Never Tried To Stop Them

Moreover, Beltran claims that, even though the Astros front office was well aware of the practice and how it broke Major League Baseball’s policy, they never even tried to stop the players from doing it:

“If they [the Astros front office] got the letter [from MLB], they knew, but they never shared it with us,” Beltran said. “Nobody said anything to us, you know, nobody said anything. I wish somebody would’ve said something. A lot of people always ask me why you didn’t stop it. And my answer is, ‘I didn’t stop it the same way no one stopped it.’ This is working for us. Why you gonna stop something that is working for you? So, if the organization would’ve said something to us, we would’ve stopped it for sure.”

At the end of the day, it’s not like the Astros needed to cheat to win, as they had one of the most stacked teams in recent memory.