Adrian Beltre’s Journey to 3,000

Steve Parkhurst
Jul 30, 2017 · 2 min read

On a Tuesday evening in the latter half of June 1998 in El Paso, Texas, a ballplayer walked off the field at the conclusion of a double-A baseball game in the Texas League.

The next night, in Los Angeles, a career began that will eventually land Adrian Beltre in Cooperstown, home of the baseball Hall of Fame.

Adrian Beltre was batting .321 with 13 homeruns for the San Antonio Missions in his 64 games at the AA level. To make the leap from AA to the majors while skipping AAA was rare in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization, where modern greats like Mike Piazza, Eric Karros, Raul Mondesi and Todd Hollandsworth had all played AAA ball.

It is not uncommon for prospects to be viewed largely as suspects until they prove their worth on the field, so in June of 1998 there were no guarantees, just a need at third base for an organization that was in complete disarray. So after the Missions game in El Paso concluded on that Tuesday night, Beltre was informed he was on his way to Los Angeles.

Beltre would play 6 complete seasons in Los Angeles, his current stint with the Texas Rangers is his longest tenure with any team in his 20 seasons as a professional. Beltre won a MVP award in 2004 before leaving Los Angeles for Seattle. Five seasons later it was off to Boston for a season before landing with the Rangers.

Beltre has developed the reputation for being a character, to put it mildly. A search through social media will reveal many great short videos of his zany antics on the field and in the dugout. Must recently, just this past week, Beltre was waiting on-deck. He was not in the proper place though, and the umpire warned him to get back to the on-deck circle. Beltre went over to the on-deck circle, and dragged the entire thing over to where he had been standing. He got ejected for the move. His manager got ejected for arguing about the ejection.

Beltre has also become a fan favorite. His solid play at third base, his quick bat and sufficient power, plus his durability with limited time on the disabled list, has always endeared him to fans and has allowed him to earn their respect. In the recent march toward history, fans, both home and opposing, have been rooting for Beltre to do his thing.

Sunday afternoon Adrian Beltre collected his 3,000th career base hit. Beltre is likely to play through the 2018 season, allowing him to pad his hit total and conclude what would be 21 seasons in major league baseball. Beltre still moves well and plays a great third base, it would be easy to see him continue playing in 2019, but only time will tell.

If 2018 is the conclusion of his career, in 2024 or 2025 Adrian Beltre will be taking his place in Cooperstown.

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade