Texas Rangers retiring 29 in honor of Adrian Beltre

The Texas Rangers are set to honor one of the greatest third basemen in baseball history, as they will retire Adrian Beltre’s number this year.

Adrian Beltre put together a solid career. He was a four time All Star and four time Silver Slugger, the runner up in the 2004 NL MVP vote. A brilliant defensive third baseman, Beltre won five Gold Glove awards; his 166 runs saved at third trailing only Brooks Robinson and Buddy Bell at third. He is a sure fire first ballot Hall of Famer, one of the greatest players to hail from the Dominican Republic.

There is also no questioning the impact he made with the Texas Rangers. He was a veteran mentor and a leader, in addition to being one of the best players in the history of the franchise. As such, it is no surprise that the Rangers plan to honor their former third baseman by retiring his number in 2019.

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Beltre had an impressive run with the Rangers. Over his eight years in Texas, he produced a .304/.357/.509 batting line, hitting 199 homers and 239 doubles, with his 43.4 bWAR ranking third in franchise history. Beltre won three of his Gold Gloves with the Rangers, represented the team three times in the Mid Summer Classic, and finished in the top ten of the AL MVP vote four times.

His time in Texas proved to be a fitting capstone to an excellent career. Overall, Beltre produced a .286/.339/.480 batting line, slugging 477 homers and 636 doubles. He was the 31st member of the 3000 hit club, with his 3166 career hits ranking 16th all time. If he continued to play for another year or two, it is possible that he would have reached the 500 homer milestone, furthering his place in baseball history.

Even without that milestone, there is no questioning Beltre’s greatness. In another six years, he will likely be inducted into the Hall of Fame, with the only question being which cap will be on his head. Given his excellence with the Rangers, it should be an easy choice.

The Texas Rangers are set to retire Adrian Beltre’s number this season. It will not be the only accolade that he receives when his career comes to an end.