MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan was on point when he said Texas Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre is at the point of his Hall of Fame career where he ties or passes somebody on a list of all-time offensive leaders almost every week.
Once again, he proved he is moving up one career list or another. The first one was a second-inning double that made him the all-time leader in hits by a player from Latin America. Beltre is from the Dominican Republic, and he passed Rod Carew of Panama with the 3,054th hit in his career.
With the exception of reaching 3,000 hits last year, Beltre normally doesn’t get worked up over these passing milestones.
Adrian Beltre and Rickey Henderson are now tied for 24th on the all time hallowed list of hitters. He is within six hits of passing Craig Biggio to stand alone in 23rd place. The only other active hitter in Major League Baseball in the top 25 is Ichiro Suzuki, who 21st with 3.082 hits.
“It means a lot, obviously,” Beltre said via Sullivan’s story. “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. Hard to believe because I grew up with those guys. Obviously, it’s because I have been playing a long time and I have been lucky enough to stay on the field.”
The 38-year-old Beltre is the fifth major leaguer to hit at least 100 home runs for three different teams, he has hit at least 20 home runs in 12 different seasons, and in five, driven in at least 100 runs. He hit a major league-leading 48 home runs while playing for the Dodgers in 2004, was the team MVP of the Red Sox in 2010, and tied for the major league lead in hits in 2013 while playing for the Rangers.
Sharing the record as one of four major leaguers to hit for the cycle three times, Adrian Beltre is the only one to hit three at the same stadium, Globe Life Park in Arlington. He is the sixth player with a three-home-run game in both the regular season and postseason, and just the second with a both a three-home-run game and cycle in the same week.
“I don’t know how long I will stay up there. There are a lot of guys coming up behind me. But to get that is something I am proud of.”