The celebratory times will carry over into the summer for Texas Rangers fans when longtime third baseman Adrian Beltre is inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. It’s official. He will be forever linked to the franchise with which he ended his storied career.
“{The HOF} announced that Adrian Beltre’s plaque will feature a Rangers cap, while Jim Leyland’s will not have a team logo,” MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand posted on X. “Joe Mauer (Twins) and Todd Helton (Rockies) will have the logos of the only clubs for which they ever played.”
None of those decisions are surprising, but Beltre spent almost as many years with the Los Angeles Dodgers as he did in Texas, so there was a chance he would choose to represent one of the most legendary brands in all of sports. He solidified his case for Cooperstown in Arlington, though.
Adrian Beltre helped bring Rangers to new heights
The Dominican Republic native recorded a .304 batting average, 199 home runs, 699 RBIs, earned four All-Star Game selections, won three Silver Slugger awards and three Gold Gloves across his eight-year tenure with the Rangers. He captivated fans with his tremendous range at the hot corner and reliable bat, while also entertaining them with his big personality. Even Beltre’s decline was impressive, as he hit a respectable .273 with 15 home runs at 39 years of age in his final year (2018).
But he and the Rangers could not quite seize that elusive World Series championship. The champagne was as good as uncorked in 2011, with Texas just one strike away from winning its first-ever title. David Freese plunged a dagger deep into the heart of the club and city, one that would take almost a decade-and-a-half to remove.
