Beltrán’s speed, power puts him in rare company
After missing more than half of the 2010 MLB season due to right knee surgery, some believed Carlos Beltrán would not return to form. However, Beltrán had a productive first half with the New York Mets in 2011, with 15 home runs.
In the search of a high impact player to boost their offense, the San Francisco Giants sent pitching prospect Zack Wheeler to the Mets to acquire Beltrán near the trade deadline. Less than two months after the trade, Beltrán hit his 300th career home run against the San Diego Padres.
Beltrán told the Associated Press: “It means a lot for me, actually. Thank God for that, being able to play this game for a long time,” with both knees wrapped in ice bags. With that feat, he became the sixth Puerto Rican-born player to reach 300 home runs.
But Beltrán had even more milestones in store.
After his contract expired at the end of the 2011 season, Beltrán signed with the St. Louis Cardinals. Although he was coming off an All-Star campaign, few could have predicted that he would soon join one of baseball’s most exclusive clubs.
On June 15, 2012, Beltrán did just that. Facing the Kansas City Royals – the team with which he began his career – he stole second base in the second inning and secured his 300th career steal. It marked his seventh steal in nine attempts that season and the 300th of his career in 343 attempts – making him the eighth member of the 300 homer/300 steal club.
St Louis ultimately lost the game 3-2, but Beltrán’s milestone overshadowed the final score.
“It is crazy, but at the same time, things happen for a reason. I can say it was good to play them today, even though we lost,” Beltrán told MLB.com. “For me, personally, I started my career as a Royal, I spent six-and-a-half years there, so I have good memories there in Kansas City."
Beltrán became the first switch hitter in Major League Baseball history to be a part of the 300-300 club and joined an overall list that included Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonds, Andre Dawson, Steve Finley, Willie Mays, Álex Rodríguez and Reggie Sanders. At the time of Beltrán’s election to the Hall of Fame in 2026, no other player had joined that group.
Across a 20-year MLB career, Beltrán earned nine-time All-Star selections, three Gold Glove Awards, two Silver Slugger Awards, the 1999 American League Rookie of the Year and a World Series championship in 2017.
Khadifi Madison was the spring 2026 Jim Murray Scholars intern at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
