Three MLB stars of the 2000s are about to receive eternal recognition. Carlos Beltrán, Andruw Jones and Jeff Kent combined for seven Silver Sluggers, 13 Gold Gloves and more than 1,200 home runs during their playing careers. Together, they enter Cooperstown as the latest Hall of Fame class.

Joe Buck is this year’s Ford C. Frick Award winner. He’s being honored as a broadcaster nearly 40 years after his father, Jack Buck, was the recipient of the same award. The annual Baseball Hall of Fame induction is a special moment for fans of all stripes. Here’s what to know about the 2026 ceremony.

How to watch the 2026 Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony
Venue: Clark Sports Center — Cooperstown, N.Y.
Date: Sunday, July 26
Time: 1:30 p.m. ET
TV: MLB Network
Streaming: Fubo (Stream Free Now)

This broadcast is also available on MLB.com, MLB.TV and the MLB app.

Hall of Fame induction ceremony coverage

The MLB Network broadcast is hosted by Greg Amsinger. Jon Morosi, Harold Reynolds and Tom Verducci are all joining him in Cooperstown. MLB Network’s Brian Kenny is the master of ceremonies.

Coverage opens with an essay written by Verducci and read by Joe Buck. Beltrán and Jones also get sit-down interviews with Bob Costas, while Kent’s conversation with Verducci from January gets a re-air.

All three inductees are honored with video tributes from former teammates or managers. Carlos Delgado welcomes Beltrán, John Smoltz introduces Jones and Dusty Baker tips his hat to Kent.

According to MLB Network, 61 Hall of Famers are expected to attend Sunday’s ceremony. That would be a record number, surpassing the 58 who took part in the 2019 festivities.

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This year’s Hall of Fame inductees

Center fielders Beltrán and Jones joined this 2026 class through the Baseball Writers’ Association of America vote.

Beltrán‘s MLB career spanned 20 seasons. He was born in Puerto Rico and debuted for the Kansas City Royals in 1998. The switch hitter was a nine-time All-Star and won three Gold Glove awards. By wins above replacement, Beltrán’s most dominant stretch came with the New York Mets from 2005-11.

His legacy was marked by playoff highs and lows. Beltrán’s 2004 postseason with the Houston Astros was special — a .435 average with eight homers, 14 RBIs and six stolen bases across a dozen games. But his 2006 Mets run ended in Game 7 of the NLCS when he struck out looking with the bases loaded. Beltrán retired after he won his only title, the controversial 2017 World Series with the Astros.

He finished with 435 home runs and a slash line of .279/.350/.486, numbers well worthy of Cooperstown.

Jones was born in Curaçao and joined the Atlanta Braves at just 19 years old. Twelve of his 17 MLB seasons came in a Braves uniform. He claimed 10 Gold Glove awards as he patrolled the Atlanta outfield.

He led the majors with 51 home runs in 2005, and he logged at least 100 RBIs in five different seasons. Jones wrapped up his career in 2012 with the New York Yankees. He posted 434 homers with a .254/.337/.486 line.

He’s forever known as an all-time great defensive player, though he sometimes struggled with consistency at the plate. Jones’ son, Druw, was the No. 2 pick of the 2022 draft and represented the Netherlands in the 2026 World Baseball Classic.

Kent was the first announcement of the 2026 class, voted in by the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee. The second baseman played for six MLB teams and earned All-Star bids with the San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers and Astros. Kent spent 2,194 of his 2,298 regular-season games in the National League.

His best season was with the 2000 Giants, an MVP campaign off the strength of his .334 average, 33 home runs and 125 RBIs. He finished his 17-year tenure with 377 homers and a .290/.356/.500 slash line. Though he gained a reputation for surliness, Kent’s countenance is now immortalized in baseball history.

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About 250 reporters were at Shea to watch Beltrán button a Mets jersey with the number 15, and to hear him respectfully talk about the history of great New York center fielders and to listen as he coolly welcomed the scrutiny that will become as indelible to his life as brushing his teeth. Beltrán called New York a “city of a lot of pressure” and seemed eager to dive into the intensity.

“I expect a lot from myself,” Beltrán said. “What I will do is what I have done my whole career: have fun.” — Jack Curry, 2005

Andruw Jones

Jones eclipsed Mickey Mantle as the youngest player to hit a home run in the World Series. He is only the second player in history to homer in his first two at-bats in a World Series, joining Oakland’s Gene Tenace (1972). The two homers and five runs batted in were a remarkable display for a player of any age and in any era, but it was even more remarkable because it was accomplished by a teenager who had had only 106 at-bats in the major leagues and occurred in the most pressure-packed setting in the sport.

“At the beginning of the year, I never thought that it could happen this fast,” Jones said. — Curry, 1996

Jeff Kent

It is a hard-edged sense of discipline and a decided fear of failure — both taught by his father — that have gotten Kent into the top 10 in almost every offensive category in the National League.

Kent is afraid to talk about the numbers, and shies away from season-long projections. It means nothing to him if the first three rows of the lawn have been mowed with flawless perfection. Nothing counts until he gets the entire job done. — Jennifer Frey, 1994

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