One question the NY Mets need to answer about Carlos Beltran after HOF announcement

Carlos Beltran will officially go into Cooperstown wearing a New York Mets cap. As if there was any doubt, with his prime years happening with the Mets and his current employment with the team, it was made official on Tuesday.

Beltran will join Jeff Kent and Andruw Jones in this summer’s 2026 Hall of Fame class. There’s no question about that. Now the Mets have one question left to answer.

The question: What date are they retiring Carlos Beltran's number?

The Mets used to have a high standard for who gets their number retired. Unless you’re in Cooperstown, your number isn’t getting hung from the rafters.

For better or worse, this has changed in recent years. Keith Hernandez, Jerry Koosman, David Wright, Darryl Strawberry, and Dwight Gooden all had their numbers retired. So did Willie Mays who, while in the Hall of Fame, was only for the Mets briefly at the end of his career.

No announcement has been made yet by the Mets about retiring Beltran’s number. It’s a must and they shouldn’t wait long. Mike Piazza’s number 31 waited until he was elected into the Hall of Fame. Prior to him, Tom Seaver was the only Mets player who had his number retired by the organization.

The real debate would have come in if Beltran had chosen to wear a Kansas City Royals cap into Cooperstown. Would the Mets feel as required to retire it then?

Beltran’s number 15 has hardly been held sacred. It’s the number Tyrone Taylor has worn for the past two seasons. The number has been worn frequently by an onslaught of random Mets players including Brian Dozier, Cameron Maybin, and Danny Mendick.

It’s a shame the Kansas City Royals are visiting on a weekday in July. It would have been a nice payback for them giving out Eric Hosmer bobbleheads in 2025 when the Mets visited their ballpark.

The Mets have several big home series in the first half including ones against the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers. Let’s do it early, April 25th against the Colorado Rockies just a day after Beltran’s birthday. Mike Puma says the jersey retirement is "still in play." It's not only in play, it's a slam dunk decision.