Adrián Beltré received a hero’s welcome from the Texas Rangers after his Hall of Fame induction. And a surprise.
The third baseman was honored at Globe Life Field on Saturday before a game against the Minnesota Twins, wearing his Cooperstown plaque and a cowboy hat. The event had the usual trappings of a ceremony for a player whose number was already retired in 2019, but then Rangers public address announcer Chuck Morgan said something the player clearly wasn’t expecting.
“In 2025, National Baseball Hall of Famer Adrián Beltré will be honored with a bronze statue just outside Globe Life Field,” Morgan said.
Beltré will become the third player to have a statue at Globe Life Field in 4 years, joining Nolan Ryan and Iván Rodríguez as the only other players to enter the Hall of Fame wearing a Rangers cap.
It’s been a busy month for the Hall of Famer, who told the Associated Press that his next destination will be home:
“That was the last thing I planned to do this weekend,” Beltré said. “After that, I’ll go home and be a father and a husband again, and I’ll try to find a time to take a little vacation. Because I just need to lay on the beach for a little bit.”
Beltre, 45, played just eight of his 21 MLB seasons with the Rangers, but it was in Texas that he became a first-ballot Hall of Famer. He began his Rangers career with six consecutive seasons receiving MVP votes, along with three All-Star nominations, four Gold Gloves and two Silver Gloves.
Beltré retired with a legacy that places him among the greatest defensive third basemen of all time, with a bat that allowed him to stay in the middle of the batting order for two decades. Beyond his talent, he was also a beloved player, both in the locker room and in the stands.
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