When the Rangers went shopping in the aftermath of their first trip to the World Series, they were simply looking for the final pieces.
At first, they focused on Cliff Lee, the postseason hero, even bringing Christmas gifts for his kids to the pitcher’s home in an effort to retain him. When that didn’t work, the next plan was to improve the pitching staff by improving the fielders behind them.
They settled on a two-time Gold Glove-winning third baseman, Adrián Beltré, who had also, at times, displayed big power and flashed an impressive bat.
What they didn’t know they were getting: A Hall of Famer.
Come Tuesday afternoon, when the National Baseball Hall of Fame reveals the results of the 2024 election, that is exactly what Beltré will be. With nearly 50 percent of voters having already revealed their ballots, Beltré has been named on 98.9% of the ballots, which gives him a realistic shot at one of the 10 highest percentages all time, the highest ever by a third baseman and the highest by a native of the Dominican Republic.
Beltré broke in as a teenager with Dodgers, signed a big contract as a free agent with Seattle and resurrected his offensive reputation in a one-season run with Boston that included a league-leading 49 doubles and 102 RBIs. But it was in Texas that he became a Hall of Famer.
“I’d love to say we knew it would happen,” former Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said earlier this month. “But you never fully expect somebody to reach 100% of their potential. He did. We knew we were getting an elite defensive third baseman with power. And he’d shown a higher level of offensive ability. We signed him with that mindset, thinking that alone would add a ton, even if he didn’t hit like he did in Boston.
“I remember [former assistant general A.J. Preller] saying: ‘Can you imagine, though, if that is his new norm?”
Well, it was. When the Rangers signed Beltré to a deal interpreted by the team as a five-year, $80 million deal, by his agent as six years and $96 million and by the rest of baseball as a massive overpay, he was essentially a better-fielding version of Hank Blalock. In fact, both had identical career .791 OPS at the time. Before the Rangers, Beltre was a .275/.329/.462/.791 hitter. All above average. None of them suggested Hall of Fame.
With the Rangers, turns out the length of the contract didn’t matter. He spent eight seasons in Texas and evolved into an even more dangerous hitter. He slashed .304/.357/.509/.865. He surpassed 500 – and then 600 – career doubles. He reached 400 homers. He reached 3,000 hits. He more than doubled his Gold Glove total and tripled his previous lone All-Star berth. He finished in the Top 10 in the MVP voting twice before joining the Rangers. He doubled that in Texas.
He became more than just a great player in Texas. As the place can do, it made him larger than life.
He hit home runs from one knee. He “fought” over pop-ups with his shortstop. He verbally jabbed with Felix Hernandez. He did a little two-step at home plate on close pitches. He came to the plate with his helmet on backwards against an ambidextrous pitcher. He played not just through pain, but real injuries. He ran away from tags and Gatorade showers. He moved the on-deck circle to him rather than move to the on-deck circle. He played patty-cake with second base on a tag play. He saved Jose Bautista’s life after a certain punch left the Blue Jays slugger out on his feet. He went berserk when anyone tried to touch his head. He once dressed like a farmer on rookie dress up day, since all the young players were dressed as chickens. In the club’s Kangaroo Court, he was a tough, hanging judge.
He played with visible joy, appreciable intensity, occasionally a playful sneer and always respect for the game and opponents.
“He never lost focus,” said Elvis Andrus, who played next to him for eight years and became his sidekick. “We could be playing around, but he knew where everybody was at every moment. But he also needed to enjoy the game and relax. People don’t understand. When you prepare like he did, it is easy to relax and still focus.”
“When you start to talk about the attributes you want in a teammate, he checked every box,” said Michael Young. “And he checked them all at a Hall of Fame level. He was confident. He was tough. He didn’t just punch in and punch out. He played to win. He didn’t make excuses.
“He was incredibly talented, but Josh [Hamilton] was incredibly talented. He had power, but Nelson [Cruz] had power. But when you put everything together, I’m just not sure I ever saw a guy at 7 p.m. every night that was better than Adrían. He’s a Hall of Famer in every capacity.”
Which says a lot. Also, this: On YouTube, where modern history is cataloged in 2- and 5-minute bits, there are separate 11-minute long videos of Beltré's best moments on the field and his funniest moments on the field. And neither drags.
They could do another, too. On the injuries.
The story of Beltré's legendary toughness did precede his arrival in Texas. After all, the guy played third base without a protective cup. Got hit in the area where there was no protection. And when he came back, he continued to play with no cup.
He tore his hamstring up in his first year with the Rangers. Tried to come back after just two weeks, tweaked it while running and missed more time which forced him to miss all of August and left him embarrassed. He took pride in playing. He atoned for it by returning to hit 12 homers and post a 1.162 in September to win AL Player of the Month. He then had a 3-homer game to knock Tampa Bay out of the AL Division Series.
It sent a message. Beltré was, if possible, even better after being hurt than before. In the 2012, stretch while the Rangers were dealing with a weird eye issue with Josh Hamilton, Beltré was hospitalized overnight with a bowel obstruction, then came back the next day to hit a ninth-inning game-winning homer at Anaheim. He played the second half of the 2015 season with a thumb ligament that had come unraveled. Doctors advised surgery.
Beltré asked one question: Would he make it worse by playing?
No, the doctors said, but it would be extremely painful and would not heal.
Beltré played. He hit .318 with an .885 OPS in the second half and the Rangers tracked down Houston.
“He couldn’t shake people’s hands,” Daniels said. “It hurt him to get dressed. And he kept hitting. That stuff stays with you.”
Those kinds of things stayed with executives, teammates, and staff.
“His was a special kind of leadership,” former Rangers manager Ron Washington said. “You dream about that. He made everybody better. They all wanted to be something they never thought they could be. It’s the best kind of leadership. He’s the best leader I’ve ever been around.”
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