Adrian Beltre Officially Inducted into Baseball Hall of Fame

Adrian Beltre is officially a Hall of Famer

The 45-year-old Dominican former professional baseball third baseman and Texas Rangers great was officially welcomed into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday during the annual induction ceremony at the Clark Sports Center.

Adrian BeltreBeltre, who finished his 21-year career with 3,166 hits and five Gold Gloves at third base, was enshrined along with Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer and Colorado Rockies first baseman Todd Helton, the latter pair becoming baseball’s newest one-team Hall of Famers. That puts the Hall’s membership at 273 among those who entered as players.

Also inducted was longtime manager Jim Leyland, who piloted four teams, including the 1997 World Series champion Florida Marlins. Leyland represented the Detroit Tigers, whom he managed from 2006 to 2013 and led to a pair of American League pennants.

Beltre struck a playful tone with many of his remarks, which he said were “maybe 25%” improvised. He was perhaps buoyed by Hall of Famer David Ortiz, who approached Beltre on stage and patted him on the head. Beltre is famously averse to having his head touched.

“That never relaxes me,” Beltre said. “But it was a little c,ue to go back to the days when I was playing, and it’s like ‘OK, get ready to go out there and do your best with the speech.'”

Beltre, who played with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox and Rangers, is one of only two players to have over 3,000 hits, 400 homers and at least five Gold Gloves. The other was Willie Mays, who was recognized before the speeches, along with the other Hall of Famers who died since last year’s induction: Whitey Herzog, Brooks Robinson and Orlando Cepeda.

Beltre is the fifth player born in the Dominican Republic to be enshrined, the last being Ortiz — a member of the 2022 Hall class. As with Ortiz, there was a sizable contingent of Dominican fans on hand, along with a strong turnout of Texas fans.

While acknowledging some of his former teammates, Beltre cited retired ace “King FelixHernandez, whom he played with in Seattle.

“To that guy who call himself ‘King,'” Beltre said. “I loved [playing] with you. But I loved hitting against you even more.”

The 2½-hour event unfolded under pleasant skies in Cooperstown, a welcome respite for an event that has often taken place in broiling conditions.

Willson Contreras Agrees to Five-Year, $87.5 Million Deal with St. Louis Cardinals

Willson Contreras will meet you in St. Louis…

The 30-year-old Venezuelan professional baseball player and free agent catcher has agreed to a five-year, $87.5 million deal with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Willson Contreras,Contreras will replace the Cardinals’ longtime catcher Yadier Molina.

Contreras has spent the past 14 seasons in the rival Chicago Cubs organization. In seven MLB seasons, he has hit .256 with 117 home runs and 365 RBIs.]

Known for his strong arm, Contreras has dealt with criticism about his game calling, but that may have been overblown. He helped oversee a Cubs pitching staff that went to the postseason in five out of six years from 2015 to 2020.

Contreras can also play left field and first base and will likely get some reps as the designated hitter when he’s not behind the plate.

He compiled a 128 OPS+ in 113 games last season for the Cubs but is the only free agent catcher with draft pick compensation attached to him after Chicago gave him a qualifying offer.

Molina retired after a career that spanned 19 seasons in the majors, all with the Cardinals. The 10-time MLB All-Star catcher was a two-time World Series champion, winning nine Gold Glove awards and a Silver Slugger award while registering 2,168 hits.

Albert Pujols Reportedly Heading to the Los Angeles Dodgers

Albert Pujols will be heading back to the field sooner than expected…

The 41-year-old Dominican professional baseball first baseman and designated hitter, a future MLB Hall of Famer, and the Los Angeles Dodgers have reportedly agreed on a major league contract, according to ESPN.

Albert Pujols

The deal, first reported by the Los Angeles Times, isn’t expected to become official until Monday, a source said.

When it does, the Dodgers will pay Pujols only the prorated portion of the major league minimum salary for the rest of the season, roughly $420,000, a sum that will be subtracted from the $30 million salary that is being paid to him by the Los Angeles Angels.

Pujols, in the last year of his 10-year, $240 million contract, was designated for assignment by the Angels on May 6 and was officially released after clearing waivers on Thursday. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts declined to comment on Pujols prior to Saturday’s game because the deal hasn’t been officially announced.

With the defending World Series champion Dodgers, Pujols is expected to be mostly used as a late-game pinch hitter. But he could also get some playing time at first base with everyday first baseman Max Muncy capable of playing second and third base.

Only 41 of Pujols’ 12,486 career regular-season plate appearances have come as a pinch hitter, but the Dodgers expect him to help a young, inexperienced bench.

His right-handed bat might also help a team that entered Saturday with a .663 OPS against left-handed pitchers, 136 points fewer than its OPS against righties. Pujols is batting only .198/.250/.372 in 92 plate appearances this season and has been a below-average hitter by park-adjusted OPS since 2017. But he owns an .878 OPS against lefties in 2021, and his .513 expected slugging percentage suggests he has also been running into some bad luck.

In 18 plate appearances under what Baseball-Reference identifies as late-and-close situations, Pujols owns a .313/.389/.500 slash line.

Pujols, who hasn’t ruled out the possibility of playing beyond 2021, ranks fifth in career homers (667), second in RBIs since they became an official stat in 1920 (2,112) and 14th in hits (3,253). He has won three National League MVP awards, two Gold Gloves and six Silver Sluggers and has been invited to 10 All-Star Games.

His first decade with the St. Louis Cardinals — consisting of a .331/.426/.624 slash line, 408 home runs and 1,230 RBIs — stands as arguably the greatest 10-year run in baseball history. In Year 11, he finished fifth in NL MVP voting and won his second World Series ring.

He becomes the fourth former MVP on the current Dodgers roster, joining Cody BellingerMookie Betts and Clayton Kershaw. According to Elias Sports Bureau research, the Dodgers are the fourth team in MLB history to feature four former MVP winners, joining the 1978 Reds, 1982 Angels and most recently the 1996 Red Sox.