New York City will test even the best just ask the three newest Baseball Hall of Famers

COOPERSTOWN — From his experience as a player to his perch as a Mets adviser, Carlos Beltrán is uniquely qualified to talk about the challenge of playing in the biggest market in baseball. “New York,” Beltrán said on the eve of securing baseball immortality, “is not for everybody.” It was for Beltrán — but only after a rough first season in Queens that provided one of the biggest tests of his career. It was for Jeff Kent — at least enough for the second baseman to post solid seasons with the Mets, though he did not truly take off until reaching San Francisco. It was for Andruw Jones — but only after a rough initial stretch in The Bronx, picking up his play enough to convince the Yankees to re-sign him for the final season of his career. All succeeded, to varying degrees, in New York, and all built careers legendary enough that they will be enshrined Sunday in baseball’s Hall of Fame. In many ways, they all are outliers, and Beltrán might now be discovering how many players never quite figure out New York.As special assistant to David Stearns, he has watched the Mets gamble on the likes of Bo Bichette, Freddy Peralta, Luis Robert Jr., Jorge Polanco and Marcus Semien, none of whom has performed (albeit for various, debatable reasons).

It is difficult to import players from other markets, particularly small ones, and count on the talent and results to translate immediately. Few know this better than Beltrán, who emerged as a star in six and a half seasons with the Royals and a half season with the Astros before signing a seven-year, $119 million megadeal with the Mets in 2005. You know what happened next: An MVP candidate the previous two seasons was ordinary in his first with the Mets, his homers dropping from 38 in 2004 to 16 and his OPS from .915 to .744. “If you don’t understand the process, sometimes it could be overwhelming.For me, it was,” said Beltrán, who recovered well enough that his Hall of Fame bust will feature a M...