Texas Ranger legend Adrián Beltré was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday alongside Todd Helton, Joe Mauer, and Jim Leyland.
Beltré spent the final eight seasons of his remarkable career with the Rangers, joining the franchise in 2011 and leading it to four playoffs and one World Series appearance during the stretch.
The third-baseman also spent 13 seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle Mariners, and Boston Red Sox before becoming a member of the Rangers organization, picking up two Golden Glove Awards and two Silver Slugger Awards in that timeframe.
During his eight years with the Rangers, Beltré hit .305 with a .866 OPS and six finishes within the top 15 of American League MVP voting, per MLB.com.
By the time his career ended, Beltré had accumulated five Gold Glove Awards, two Platinum Glove Awards, four All-Star Game selections, and four Silver Slugger Awards.
Beltré is the all-time leader in hits at the third-base position and is one of just 33 players to join the 3,000-hit club, finishing his career with a total of 3,166 hits.
This impressive career resulted in Beltré receiving votes for the Hall of Fame on 95.1% of ballots cast, which easily exceeded the minimum requirement of 75% to be inducted, per MLB.com.
Beltré has now become just the fifth player born in the Dominican Republic to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. The most recent inductee was his former Red Sox teammate David Ortiz in 2022.
Ortiz made an appearance during Beltré’s induction to grab his head, a gesture which Beltré famously hated during his playing career.
Opposing players who were friends with Beltré would often grab his head after former Mariners teammate Félix Hernández revealed that he was not a fan of the action, as the now Hall of Famer said it was something he hated at the time but looks more fondly upon now that it is in the past.
“But OK, it was a little cute to go back to my days when I was playing. It was like teeing off, a good way to go out there and prepare for the speech. It’s just part of being in this fraternity, you call it, of players,” Beltré explained after Ortiz grabbed his head before his speech, per MLB.com.
“Even though I don’t love it, I don’t like it, but I feel like I’m open to people to be able to play around with me. Big Papi and I, we go way back before we even signed a contract,” he said.
Rangers majority owner Ray Davis said in January, when Beltré was selected to the HOF, that Beltré “excelled both offensively and defensively as one of the top third basemen in Major League history” throughout his more than two-decade career.
“His competitiveness and desire to be in the lineup every day, no matter the circumstances, earned him the utmost respect and admiration from his peers,” Davis added, per MLB.com.
“We were privileged to have him as a member of the Rangers for the final eight seasons of his remarkable career. Through his excellence on the field and influence in the clubhouse, Adrián’s contributions in helping lead the Rangers to four playoff appearances were immense. He is a true legend in the game.”
