When the great Roberto Clemente was posthumously elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973, shortly after his tragic death in a plane crash, he became the first Latino player to get a plaque in Cooperstown.
The Puerto Rico native opened the door, but it took a while for many to join him. Over the next 37 election cycles, only five more Latinos who had played in the AL or NL made it into the Hall: Juan Marichal (Dominican Republic, 1983), Luis Aparicio (Venezuela, 1984), Rod Carew (Panama, 1991), Orlando Cepeda (Puerto Rico, 1999) and Tony Perez (Cuba, 2000). Three other players from Cuba who played in the Negro Leagues before integration -- Martín Dihigo, José Mendéz and Cristóbal Torriente -- also were inducted.
But since the beginning of the 2010s, that trickle of players has turned into a steady stream. Carlos Beltrán (Puerto Rico), who was elected to the Hall of Fame's Class of 2026, is the latest in the growing line of Latin American Hall of Famers. He'll be the sixth Puerto Rican in Cooperstown.
Latino players are set to continue running toward Cooperstown through this decade and beyond. Let’s take a deeper look.
(Note: Fellow Hall of Fame Class of 2026 member Andruw Jones comes from the Caribbean island of Curacao. While exact classifications of Latin America can differ depending on the source, players from Curacao are not included for the purposes of this list.)
The HOFers since 2010
Over the last decade and a half, the number of Latino Major Leaguers in the Hall of Fame has more than doubled, from nine to 20, including Beltrán, who will be officially inducted on July 26 in Cooperstown.
Of those 11 new players, nine were elected via the Baseball Writers Association of America ballot:
Roberto Alomar, Puerto Rico (2011, second ballot, 90% of votes): A 12-time All-Star and 10-time Gold Glove Award-winning second baseman, Alomar was part of a great baseball family -- his father, Sandy Alomar, played 15 seasons in MLB and his brother, Sandy Jr., played 20 seasons.
Pedro Martínez, Dominican Republic (2015, first ballot, 91.1%): Pedro joined Marichal as the second Dominican and second Latino MLB pitcher to make the Hall. He honored that connection during his emotional, bilingual induction speech, calling Marichal up to the stage. Pedro's dominant career included three Cy Young Awards, a Triple Crown in 1999 and 3,154 career strikeouts.
Ivan Rodriguez, Puerto Rico (2017, first ballot, 76%): "Pudge" and his rocket arm earned the way to Cooperstown with 13 Gold Glove Awards as a catcher, 14 All-Star selections and an AL MVP Award in 1999.
Vladimir Guerrero, Dominican Republic (2018, second ballot, 92.9%): One of the most distinctive and dynamic players of his era, known for his aggressive hacks and rocket arm, Guerrero raked his way to Cooperstown with 449 home runs and a career .318 batting average. Upon his induction, Vlad was already thinking of those coming behind him, saying, "I know this could open the door for other players."
Mariano Rivera, Panama (2019, first ballot, 100%): The all-time saves leader and Yankees legend became the first -- and still the only -- player to be elected unanimously to the Hall of Fame. Mo was named on all 425 submitted Baseball Writers Association of America ballots.
Edgar Martinez, Puerto Rico (2019, 10th ballot, 85.4%): Martinez, who was born in New York but grew up in Puerto Rico, finally made it in his last year of eligibility on the BBWAA ballot, completing a rise from only 27% support in 2015. He's one of the greatest designated hitters of all time, a career .312 hitter who won two batting titles and five Silver Slugger Awards.
David Ortiz, Dominican Republic (2022, first ballot, 77.9%): One of the greatest playoff performers in the game's history, Ortiz became the first designated hitter to enter the Hall in his first year on the ballot. Big Papi also has a claim to the title of greatest DH, with his 541 career home runs and three World Series rings with the Red Sox.
Adrián Beltré, Dominican Republic (2024, first ballot, 95.1%): Beltré's 3,166 hits, 477 home runs and outstanding defense at third base made him an easy choice for immediate enshrinement.
Carlos Beltrán, Puerto Rico (2026, fourth ballot, 84.2%): Beltrán was one of the great two-way center fielders and power-speed stars of his era. A nine-time All-Star, three-time Gold Glover and two-time Silver Slugger, he finished his career with 435 home runs, 312 stolen bases, 2,725 hits and 1,587 RBIs.
The other two Latino players to join the Hall of Fame since 2010 were elected via the Era Committees (formerly known as the Veterans Committee), which considers those who have previously fallen off the BBWAA ballot. Candidates are divided into eras and considered on a rotating basis; 10 players have been elected via this method since 2018, including:
Minnie Miñoso, Cuba (2022): Nicknamed "the Cuban Comet," Miñoso played Major League Baseball in five different decades, starting his career in the Negro Leagues in 1947, debuting in the AL/NL for Cleveland in 1949 and finishing his career with the White Sox in 1980 ... at age 56.
Tony Oliva, Cuba (2022): Oliva was an eight-time All-Star, three-time batting champion and the 1964 AL Rookie of the Year with the Twins, and he played his entire 15-year career in Minnesota.
Coming up on the ballot
In the coming years, the fraternity of Latino Hall of Famers will no doubt continue to expand. Here's a look at upcoming BBWAA ballots.
2027: There won't be any major first-ballot candidates, but Félix Hernández (Venezuela) saw his share of the vote more than double from 20.6% in his first year on the ballot in 2025 to 46.1% in his second year in 2026. That suggests King Félix, with his dominant peak and 2010 Cy Young Award with the Mariners, has a real chance to get in eventually, although it might not be in 2027.
Alex Rodriguez, the son of Dominican parents, will be in his sixth year on the ballot after coming in at 40% in 2026. He has no-doubt Hall of Fame numbers but also baggage caused by performance-enhancing drug use and suspensions. Fellow ballot holdovers Bobby Abreu (Venezuela), Omar Vizquel (Venezuela) and Francisco Rodríguez (Venezuela) all have a long way to go.
2028: This is a big one, with a first-ballot lock in Albert Pujols and another strong candidate in Yadier Molina. Will Pujols (Dominican Republic) become the second player elected unanimously to the Hall of Fame? And will he enter the Hall alongside his longtime Cardinals teammate Yadi (Puerto Rico)? There's also Robinson Canó (Dominican Republic), who has stats worthy of Cooperstown, but whose multiple suspensions for performance-enhancing drugs will undoubtedly curtail his support.
2029: At least one more Latin American Hall of Famer will join the ballot in 2029: Miguel Cabrera (Venezuela), who also has unanimous selection potential. Miggy will be joined on that ballot by Nelson Cruz (Dominican Republic), who launched 464 homers during his career but was also once suspended for PED use.
Still putting up numbers
Players must be retired for five years before becoming eligible for the Hall, so anyone still active in 2025 would have to wait until at least 2031 to be inducted into Cooperstown.
But there's one Latino Major Leaguer who has likely punched his ticket whenever the time comes: Venezuela native Jose Altuve. We'll see if the Astros' sign-stealing scandal impacts Altuve's candidacy, but his on-field résumé so far -- two World Series championships, three batting titles, seven Silver Sluggers, nine All-Star selections -- speaks for itself.
Other veterans such as José Ramírez (Dominican Republic), Francisco Lindor (Puerto Rico) and Manny Machado, who has Dominican heritage, will all have strong Hall of Fame cases.
There's also no shortage of younger superstars who could be future Hall of Famers. That includes 2023 NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. (Venezuela), six-time Silver Slugger Juan Soto (Dominican Republic) and three-time All-Star Julio Rodríguez (Dominican Republic). You can see the next wave of Latino stars rolling toward Cooperstown.