With love and laughs, Beltr¨¦ takes his place in Hall as one of hot corner's finest
Thomas Harding
@harding_at_mlb
Kennedi Landry
@kennlandryCOOPERSTOWN, N.Y. -- The first time Adrian Beltr¨¦ signed up for baseball using birthday money, he just nee ded his parents to pay the monthly fee.
¡°The first thing my dad asked me was, ¡®What position are you going to play?¡¯¡± Beltre said. ¡°I didn¡¯t reply, I didn¡¯t know. He said, ¡®You should play second base because I don¡¯t think you¡¯re going to be very tall.¡¯¡±
Dad was right about that. Beltr¨¦ reached 5-11. But after three months , a teammate saw something in Beltr¨¦ at third base. The venue at which Beltr¨¦ told this story -- his induction speech in the 2024 Hall of Fame class -- proved his teammate prophetic.
¡°The third baseman wanted to play second base,¡± Beltr¨¦ said. ¡°And he said to me, ¡®I think you look better at third base. We should swap positions.¡¯ I simply said OK.¡±
Good thing Beltr¨¦ didn¡¯t veto the trade. It took him all the way to Cooperstown.
On the stage the same day that forever Rockie Todd Helton and forever Twin Joe Mauer were inducted as players (manager Jim Leyland also crossed into the Hall), Beltr¨¦ was a more typically well-traveled star. He broke in with the Dodgers in 1998 at age 19, and took his magical defense and power hitting to the Dodgers (1998-2004), Mariners (2005-09), Red Sox (2010) and the team that enjoyed him most, the Rangers (2011-18).
This all stemmed from the freedom that a natural third baseman finds when the hot corner beckons.
¡°I immediately fell in love with that position,¡± Beltr¨¦ said. ¡°I loved every challenge of playing third base. I was hooked. Those hot shots, slow ground balls, double plays, I couldn¡¯t get enough of them.¡±
Beltr¨¦ gave a speech that was almost as smooth as his glove when it so often seemed to dart out and rob an opponent of a hit. Maybe he was joking, maybe not, when he said, ¡°Please bear with me ... My English is going to get worse every day.¡±
Of course, Beltr¨¦ nailed the speech, all the while flashing the smile that accompanied his exploits.
Beltr¨¦ solidified Hall of Fame status with the Rangers. But it started long before -- with a surprise phone call.
¡°On June 23, 1998, when I was in Double-A, I received one of the most important calls of my life,¡± Beltr¨¦ said. ¡°I want to thank this legend so much for giving me the opportunity and having the guts to call this 19-year-old kid to the big leagues when nobody was expecting it, especially me. I will always be grateful to the late Tommy Lasorda."
Beltr¨¦ thanked all of his clubs, but saved the most special for last. Rangers fans broke into loud cheers when he began talking about his time there.
Beltr¨¦ was a good player before he got to Texas, there¡¯s no doubt about that. He had a pair of Gold Gloves, a Silver Slugger and was coming off a monster year in Boston in which he slashed .321/.365/.553.
In his eight years in Arlington, Beltr¨¦ became a franchise legend, hitting .304 with an .865 OPS. He accumulated 1,277 of his 3,166 hits with the Rangers. He had six top-15 AL MVP finishes, and he was the undisputed leader of the clubhouse during some of the best years in franchise history.
Beltr¨¦ finished his career with five Gold Glove Awards, two Platinum Glove Awards, four All-Star Game selections, four Silver Slugger Awards and 477 home runs.
His 93.5 bWAR ranks third among third basemen in baseball history behind Mike Schmidt (106.9) and Eddie Mathews (95.9).
¡°It's easy for this guy,¡± Rangers longtime star Michael Young said. ¡°The one thing I loved is that Adrian didn't just show up at 7:00 and punch in, punch out. There are certain teammates that you play with and you love to play with because they really play to win.¡±
In his thank-yous, Beltr¨¦ referred to Young as ¡°Mr. Ranger,¡± and talked of friendship with Elvis Andrus, who played alongside him at shortstop, whom he called a ¡°pain in my, ah, butt -- you wanted to catch every freaking fly ball just to help your fielding percentage.¡±
Beltr¨¦'s No. 29 already hangs in Globe Life Field alongside the numbers of Nolan Ryan, Young, Ivan ¡°Pudge¡± Rodriguez and Johnny Oates. Ryan and Rodriguez are both in the Hall of Fame with Rangers caps as well.
But Beltr¨¦ felt that with all he gave, he received as much or more.
¡°Like they say, everything is bigger in Texas,¡± Beltr¨¦ said. ¡°You guys gave me big love.¡±