By Miguel Rapetti
03 Feb 2024, 18:00 PM EST
The Dominican legend and new member of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, Adrián Beltré, officially announced this Friday that his entry into Immortality will be under the motto of the Texas Rangers.
Through a statement posted on social networks, Beltré considered that, in addition to playing much more in Texas than in any of the other three teams he played, his highest level of play was reached in the Rangers, which is why his plaque on the Hall of Fame will be with the current World Series champions.
“I appreciate the time I spent with all my teams during my career. Looking back, I played more years in Texas than anywhere else and I believe my time with the Rangers represents the pinnacle of my career, both individually and from a team standpoint,” he said of his decision.
He later recalled that although he considers that with Texas he experienced the greatest achievements in his career, he could not have achieved everything he achieved without the support of his other currencies.
“But I couldn’t have taken this trip to Cooperstown without the Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox and their fans, and I’m proud that each of the teams I played for is on my Hall plaque. of Fame,” he added in the text.
The choice of Beltré is not unreasonable considering that he spent up to eight years with the Texas Rangers, from his arrival in 2011 to 2018.
In that time, Beltré managed to win two Silver Bats, three Gold Gloves and went to three All-Star Games, although his greatest recognition came from his batting statistics.
With Texas in eight years, Beltré averaged .304, in which he had 1,277 hits (one of them his 3,000th), 199 home runs and 699 RBIs.
With his election, El Koja will become the third member of the Texas Rangers to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, after two legends: American pitcher Nolan Ryan and Puerto Rican catcher Iván “Pudge” Rodríguez.
The celebration of the ceremony in which Beltré will enter the Baseball Hall of Fame will take place on July 21 in Cooperstown, where he will share with the other inductees of the 2024 class Todd Helton, Joe Mauer and former manager Jim Leyland, the latter elected under the 2023 veterans committee.
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