Texas Rangers: Is Adrian Beltre the most under the radar (future) MLB Hall of Famer?
Is Texas Rangers third basemen Adrian Beltre the most under the radar (future) Hall of Fame player in MLB history?
Texas Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre is a sure-fire lock for the MLB Hall of Fame, yet he’s done so quietly over his 20-plus year MLB career. Over the past season, Beltre is making a bit of noise, as he reaches milestone after milestone in the process.
He collected his 3,000th hit in front of the Texas Rangers faithful last season and is also quickly approaching 500 career home runs.
His most celebrated accomplishment of 2017 came days later, however, when Beltre’s sense of humor shined brightly — with umpire Jerry Davis not appreciating this great moment. Dude has ZERO sense of humor.
Not only does Beltre have a Hall of Fame resume, but a Hall of Fame personality to go with it — where he collected the MLB Mr. Personality award in 2017.
No question in our mind! Congrats, Adrian, on the @MLB 2017 Personality of the Year Award. #MLBAwards pic.twitter.com/yHaqM83QTi
— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) November 18, 2017
His antics are nothing new, where he’s always played the game in style, with a flash of flair that would make even Chotchkie’s manager Stan proud.
The greatest goofs of Beltre is a much watch, where his love for the game (and life) is on full display.
More from Call to the Pen
- Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
- Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
- Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
- Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
- 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals
Unfortunately for Beltre, his engaging personality’s masked his greatness on the field, making him the “quietest” MLB Hall of Fame — where he’ll undoubtedly walk straight to Cooperstown upon his retirement.
His latest achievement on the baseball diamond was on Thursday night, where Beltre passed Hall of Famer Rod Carew (insert Adam Sandler voice) as the all-time leader in hits among Latin American-born MLB players.
Beltre was just getting warmed up, where he tied the “greatest” of all-time Rickey Henderson (if you don’t believe me, just ask Rickey) on the MLB hits list with 3,055. Beltre’s next target on the MLB hits list is Craig Biggio (3,060), who he is sure to run down by next week.
The moment was not lost on Beltre, who expressed his gratitude to MLB and his wonderful fans.
"“We grew up watching those guys play in the big leagues. I never thought I would be mentioned with those guys. Obviously, for me it is humbling.”"
The Spanish call of this monumental moment is priceless, making the milestone that much more significant — thanks to MLB.com for providing the footage.
Next: Albert Belle makes a mockery of MLB Spring training
It’s hard to believe that a loud personality such as Adrian Beltre is quietly going about his MLB Hall of Fame business, but here we are. Congratulations on yet another stop on milestone road Mr. Beltre; en route to your final destination in Cooperstown.