He hit. He caught. He threw. He competed.
More importantly, Adrian Beltre made us smile. Caused us to remember that baseball is just a game. And that he was nothing more than a (uniquely talented) kid.
He joked.
On July 26, 2017, I took my dad and brother to Arlington as Beltre closed in on 3,000 hits. We went for the history. We stayed for the hysterical.
It was an ugly, epic blowout. By 11 p.m. on a sultry Wednesday night the Rangers trailed the Marlins, 16-8. But Beltre already had three hits and was due up in the bottom of the eighth. Forget tonight’s late drive and tomorrow’s early morning, this was a must-see AB. By now, you’ve heard the story. Umpire Gerry Davis inexplicably attempted to strong-arm Beltre onto the on-deck spot, but instead Beltre merely and comically moved the on-deck spot to where he was already standing.
Produce like a robot. Personalize like a human being. On that front, Beltre was a resounding 2 for 2.
In the wake of his retirement Tuesday, lots of eulogies highlighting his statistics are saturating the Internet. But what made Beltre great to me – and the reason I will miss him on the Rangers in 2019 and beyond – is that he was not only one of baseball’s greatest players, but also one of its goofiest.
He and Elvis Andrus made pop-ups entertaining.
He danced at the plate after taking close pitches.
He hit home runs from one knee, and threw out base runners from the Six Flags Shock Wave.
He turned his noggin’ into sacred ground, once interrupting a pitching change at Yankee Stadium to throw his glove at Andrus after the shortstop dared to tap his cap during the mound meeting.
He made us glad we stayed late during that meaningless July blowout, even though it was to see his ejection rather than a milestone.
Said Beltre in a statement: “After careful consideration and many sleepless nights, I have made the decision to retire from what I’ve been doing my whole life, which is playing baseball, the game I love.”
On this Thanksgiving normally reserved for football and family, let’s detour to appreciate the one and only Beltre. He was a legendary fielder, a prolific hitter, a loyal teammate, a gutsy gamer and, yes, a big boy who sprayed a cool, refreshing mist onto the dog days of summer by playing with unfiltered joy and unprecedented passion. Signed by the Dodgers as a 15-year-old out of the Dominican Republic in 1994 for a bonus of $23,000, Beltre retires with career earnings of more than $220 million. He spent seven seasons in LA, five with the Mariners and one with the Red Sox before playing his final eight in Arlington. He’s a certain Hall of Famer come 2023 and one of baseball’s greatest third basemen – only Brooks Robinson started more games at the hot corner and no one that played the position produced more hits.
One of the most respected players during his era, Beltre played through ankle sprains and torn thumb ligaments and those consistently balky hamstrings. Of all his impressive stats, this one stands out: He is one of only four players to have 3,000 hits, 400 homers and five Gold Gloves. The others: Willie Mays, Carl Yastrzemski and David Winfield.
Not bad for an acquisition some bemoaned as a consolation prize when the Rangers signed Beltre in January ’11 only after losing out on pitching ace Cliff Lee.
Those moments. Those records. That legacy. They all make writing this that much tougher:
For all his greatness, Adrian Beltre barely cracks the Top 10 of all-time Texas Rangers and I’m not so sure they should retire his No. 29.
I knooooowwwww. But hear me out.
This is not to suggest Beltre was overrated, more that he achieved only about 40 percent of his career in Arlington.
Only 1,277 of his 3,166 hits. Only 199 of his 477 homers. Not all of his Gold Gloves. Not all of his All-Star appearances. Nor all of his cycles. And, remember, 13 of his 21 seasons were played for teams other than the Rangers.
In that sense, Beltre is Nolan Ryan. A first-ballot Hall of Famer who enjoyed personal milestones here – for Ryan it was no-hitters; for Beltre hit No. 3,000 – but never the ultimate team success. Not that Beltre, as we know all too well, didn’t come close.
He hit .300 with two homers in the 2011 World Series, but as the Rangers coughed up Games 6 and 7 in St. Louis he went only 1 for 9 at the plate with three strikeouts (he did hit a seventh-inning homer that gave the Rangers lead in Game 6). Beltre was a leader on that ’11 team that got within one strike of the trophy, and the following season he finished third in the AL MVP voting. Among his highlights: the three-homer performance in a 4-3 win over the Rays at Tropicana Field that propelled Texas into its second consecutive ALCS. There was also the two-run homer that helped the Rangers blast the Angels in Game No. 162 and hang onto the AL West title in ’15.
His drama, professionalism, enthusiasm and loyalty (he re-worked his contract to give the team more financial flexibility) notwithstanding, Beltre joined the Rangers on the downside of his career. In his final two seasons, four muscle strains limited him to 134 games in the field.
The ding of his durability. The lack of the championship. The proportionate slice of his career production. Add them up and it’s difficult to let our warm-’n-fuzzy holiday feelings automatically place him near the top of the greatest Rangers. Among offensive leaders, Beltre doesn’t rank among the Top 5 in at-bats, average, slugging, runs, hits or RBI. And his three Gold Gloves at third base? Impressive, until you remember that Buddy Bell won five consecutive for the Rangers ’79-84.
Only three Rangers have their numbers retired. Sorry, but Beltre’s contributions don’t compare to Johnny Oates, Pudge Rodriguez or Ryan. And to shove his way into my Top 10 Rangers, he’d have to displace Toby Harrah or Ruben Sierra. That argument can be made – and won – for Beltre, but he’s not touching Pudge, Juan Gonzalez, Michael Young, Josh Hamilton, Rafael Palmeiro, Charlie Hough, Jim Sundberg or Kenny Rogers.
Similarly, Beltre’s departure from the DFW sports scene shouldn’t prompt as many tears as, say, home-grown heroes such as Mike Modano, Young, Tony Romo, Jason Witten or, coming soon to a box of Kleenex tissues near you, Dirk Nowitzki.
While Beltre retires to his wife, Sandra, and three children, the Rangers will forge into 2019 with Jurickson Profar at third base, no star, no marketing buzz and no hope for anything other a rebuilding season in a lame-duck stadium.
“I’m so blessed to play for the last eight years next to not only the best third baseman this game has seen, but also my brother,” Andrus wrote on Instagram Tuesday. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for my career on and off the field.”
He persevered. He led. He wowed.
And, yes, through it all Adrian Beltre made us laugh.
(Photo by Getty Images)