Pudge Rodriguez says Adrian Beltre will be quite nervous on Sunday morning as he gets ready for his afternoon speech when he is inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
“Lot of work, lot of work, full week of a lot of events.,” Rodriguez said. “When you get close to Sunday, you start getting a little nervous ... but it is a fun week.”
Rodriguez knows. He was inducted in 2017. He’s been through it. He’s enjoying watching the former Rangers superstar experience it.
Beltre will join former Minnesota catcher Joe Mauer, former Colorado first baseman Todd Helton and former Pittsburgh Pirates manager Jim Leyland as members of the 2024 class, bringing the total of members of Hall of Fame members to 346. Beltre is the 10th member of the Texas Rangers to be inducted.
Dozens of hall of famers will also be on the stage with Beltre. They are invited to return every year to welcome the newest members to Cooperstown.
“I have a chance to go every year, but this one is special,” Rodriguez said. “Adrian’s a great person, a great player. This is going to be nice.”
Beltre played for the Rangers from 2011-18, his final stop in a 21-year career that began with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1998 and continued in Seattle and Boston before coming to Arlington.
Rodriguez is one of many former Rangers teammates, plus front office members, who will be attendance.
“His numbers speak for themselves,” former teammate and first baseman Mitch Moreland said. “He made the game fun. If you go back and watch his highlights, you see just as much of (him) running around and having fun on the field as much as you (see) his homers and his accolades. You put those two together, you got a special player and a sure-fire first-ballot hall of famer. And that’s what he is.”
Infielder Elvis Andrus considers Beltre his biggest role model. They played together each of Beltre’s years in Arlington.
“Adrian was so good, on and off the field. We had so much fun,” Andrus said. “I was very blessed to play with him, especially early in in my career, learn, his work effort. It was a big part of the way I was able to develop in my career.
“He is a generational talent. He did it all. Just check the numbers. You don’t need t see the back of his (baseball) card to know he is a hall of fame (player).”
While fans may remember Beltre’s gaudy statistics and heroic moments, his former teammates also cherish the moments off the field.
“Fun, really; I was super lucky because we had an empty locker between us, so I got to be with him every day,” former Rangers pitcher Colby Lewis said. “It was always fun. I think the biggest thing is his leadership side of things.”
Said former teammate Ian Kinsler: “Adrian is a character. He showed up every day exact the same way. Ready to play, ready to win and also ready to have fun.” Ian Kinsler said. “When it came to game time, he was serious and ready to play.”
At the end of the career, however, it’s not just the personality and the on-field charm. It’s also those numbers that put a player into the hall of fame.
In 21 major league seasons, he batted. 286 with 3,166 hits in 2,933 games. He hit 477 home runs, 199 of them with the Rangers.
“At the end of the day, he played a very long time in the big leagues at a very high level,” Kinsler said.
The ceremonies will be broadcast live on the MLB Network, beginning at 12:30 p.m. CT.
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