Carlos Beltran heading to TV just in time for Hall of Fame voting cycle

Don’t look now, but Carlos Beltran may be taking a page from the book recently authored by David Ortiz on how to use television to make yourself more likable to a wider audience of Hall of Fame voters.

The timing of Carlos Beltran taking a spot in the YES Network broadcast booth as an analyst for 36 New York Yankees games in 2022 is certainly interesting. That it’s coming in the same year that Beltran will appear on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot for the first time drips of anything but coincidence.

Can Carlos Beltran being on television as a New York Yankees analyst help tweak his image as the Hall of Fame voting looms on the horizon later in 2022?

While he may not have the national reach that Ortiz does working as an analyst for FOX Sports in some of the biggest baseball games of the season (including the World Series), Beltran taking to the airwaves will be a chance to shrink the stigma that has followed him since the 2017 cheating scandal that has tainted the Houston Astros and their World Series run that he was a part of, playing in 129 regular-season games with Houston that season and logging 14 home runs and 51 RBI.

Those controversial times in Houston eventually cost Beltran the manager’s position with the New York Mets before he ever managed a game for the franchise. Beltran was the only player mentioned by the name in MLB’s report on Houston’s sign-stealing scandal.

"“Approximately two months into the 2017 season, a group of players, including Carlos Beltrán, discussed that the team could improve on decoding opposing teams’ signs and communicating the signs to the batter,” was the damning line in that report."

Beltran would follow with a statement of his own on the situation, admitting failure and regret.

Now, with a job to explain his views on baseball to a wide audience and let his personality shine through on television for the world to see, Beltran has the chance to put that version of himself in the forefront of Hall of Fame voters. While nothing can erase the 2017 scandal, being on television as a trusted voice for the Yankees (after playing for the franchise for two-plus years before the 2017 World Series run) can certainly go a long way toward repairing his image.

While Ortiz had a questionable PED test that always dogged him (even in his interviews after being elected to the Hall of Fame), the happy-go-lucky “Big Papi” image that went along with his impressive numbers (and postseason success) was enough to have Hall of Fame voters saying he belonged in Cooperstown, not only on his first ballot but also over players such as Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens who had the specters of PEDs lurking over them.

How will voters react to Beltran making his first appearance on a Hall of Fame ballot in 2022? And will his numbers and appearance as a Yankees analyst be enough to jettison the memories of what happened in 2017? It’s highly unlikely, but it will be interesting to watch.

The timing of Beltran taking his place in the YES booth certainly seems like an opportunity that is just too good in its timing to pass up from a public relations perspective. Don’t be surprised if Beltran addresses the issue leading up to the broadcasts, falling on the sword and looking for forgiveness in the eyes of baseball fans and Hall of Fame voters.