When the Houston Astros won the 2017 World Series, the triumph was deemed to have essentially cemented the legacies of several players on the team, including Carlos Beltran. All that was missing in Beltran's Baseball Hall of Fame resume was a World Series ring, and he marked that off his checklist after featuring for Houston in its championship-winning run in that season.

However, Beltran’s legacy took a hit after he wound up being the lone player named in MLB's sign-stealing investigational report of the Astros in 2020. According to the report, Beltran and a group of players “discussed that the team could improve on decoding opposing teams’ signs and communicating the signs to the batter.” Amid the fallout from the investigation, the former outfielder agreed to mutually part ways with the New York Mets mere months after being hired to be their new manager ahead of the 2020 season.

Beltran is expected to be among multiple first-timers who will appear on the 2023 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot. From former Astros and current Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch’s standpoint, as he told USA Today Sports, he sees that Beltran had quite a career, but he also understands “all that comes with 2017.”

“I got to play with Carlos and I always said he’s one of the most gifted and one of the best players I’ve ever seen on the field,” Hinch said. “I haven’t studied it enough to know where he stands among the greats. But he was really good for a really long time, and deserves all of the attention for being the great player he was. A switch-hitter, a star in the regular season, the postseason, an elite baseball mind, it all speaks to a Hall of Fame resume.

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“I have no idea how the writers are going to handle that, obviously understanding all that comes with 2017, but that doesn’t take away the player he was for multiple decades.”

Overall, Beltran finished his career in the majors with nine All-Star Game nods and three Gold Glove Award honors. He tallied 435 home runs and is also a member of the 2,000 hits club.

Much attention sure will be on how the Baseball Hall of Fame voters will address this dilemma later this year.