Jones, Beltran, Kent honor paths as they enter Hall of Fame - ESPN

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Different paths took Andruw Jones, Carlos Beltran and Jeff Kent to Cooperstown, but on Sunday they joined the team every player wants to be a part of: the fraternity of Hall of Famers.

Jones, Beltran and Kent accepted baseball's highest honor Sunday during the Hall of Fame's annual induction ceremony on the grounds outside of the Clark Sports Center in Cooperstown.

The three speeches all included messages of gratitude and recognition for those who helped them along the way. Each found his own way to sound his own notes on an ideal afternoon in the idyllic setting of the green lawn surrounded by hills and trees.

Beltran, the sixth player raised in Puerto Rico to earn a spot in the Hall of Fame, drew perhaps the largest contingent of fans over the weekend, with the support of both Mets fans and those from back home. He chose to go into the Hall representing the Mets, and while plenty of New York fans were on hand, the cheers were loudest from the numerous fans wearing the colors and displaying the flag of Puerto Rico.

Beltran, who founded a baseball academy on the island to further the growth of the game there and to serve as an educational resource, is happy to be an ambassador for his home, a role he'll have ample opportunities to play now that he's a Hall of Famer.

«We're proud, man,» Beltran said during a post-ceremony news conference. «We're proud people. We're a little island in the Caribbean, but full of passion, full of love, full of people with big hearts.»

Over his 20-year career, Beltran became one of four players to compile at least 400 homers, 300 steals and three Gold Gloves, joining Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle and Ken Griffey Jr.

Beltran broke in with Kansas City Royals, winning the 1999