We might as well start talking about this now. As early as next Tuesday, it’s at least possible that Carlos Beltran will earn the 75 percent of the vote necessary to gain entrance to the Hall of Fame. And when that happens — if not now, then some year soon — it’s going to be a most interesting thing to watch how Mets fans react.
As of Tuesday, the Cooperstown-tracking service dutifully conducted by the great Ryan Thibodaux (@notmrtibbs.com on Bluesky) projected two virtual shoo-ins for induction with 37.8 percent of the voting body revealing their ballots: Ichiro Suzuki (100 percent so far) and ex-Yankee CC Sabathia (92.6 percent).
Billy Wagner, who closed for the Mets in addition to four other teams, also looks like a fairly good bet to be honored this summer in his final appearance on the ballot; he sits at 84.5 percent (after falling just shy, at 73.8 percent, last year).
Beltran, for now, is the only other name sitting north of the cutline, at 79.1 percent, with Andruw Jones resting just south, at 74.3 percent. Beltran finished at 57.1 percent last year, and the way these things generally go, we can surmise two things: