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Adrian Beltre Officially Inducted into Baseball Hall of Fame

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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 Felix” Hernandez, 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.

Adrian Beltre Among Newcomers to Baseball Writers’ Association of America Hall of Fame Ballot

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Adrian Beltre is getting his first chance at entering the hall…

The 44-year-old Dominican former professional baseball player, regarded as one of the greatest third basemen of all time, is among the newcomers to the 26-player Baseball Writers’ Association of America Hall of Fame ballot, as revealed on Monday.

Adrian Beltre Beltre, a four time MLB All-Star. played 21 major league seasons and won the Rawlings Gold Glove Award five times. He played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox and Texas Rangers.

Other newcomers are  Bartolo Colon, Matt Holliday, Jose Bautista, Adrian Gonzalez, Jose Reyes, Victor Martinez, James Shields, David Wright, Joe Mauer, Chase Utley and Brandon Phillips.

Players must receive 75% of the vote to gain induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, with the top holdovers from last year’s vote including Todd Helton (72%), Billy Wagner (68%), Andruw Jones (58%), Gary Sheffield (55%) and Carlos Beltran (46.5%).

It’s the 10th and final year on the ballot for Sheffield, while Wagner is on the ballot for the ninth time.

Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez, both of whom received PED suspensions during their careers, also return to the ballot.

Beltran returns for the second time after his vote total might have been held down in his initial appearance due to his involvement in the 2017 Houston Astros cheating scandal.

Here’s a look at the top Latino newcomers:

  • Beltre should be a lock as a first-year candidate after finishing with 3,166 hits, 477 home runs and 93.5 WAR while capturing five Gold Gloves. He ranks third in WAR among third basemen, behind only Mike Schmidtand Eddie Mathews. He had his career season with the Los Angeles Dodgersin 2004, when he led the National League with 48 home runs and finished second in the MVP voting, but his best run came in his 30s with the Texas Rangers from 2011 to 2018, when he had four 30-homer seasons and hit .304.
  • Colon became a fan favorite late in his career, and he finished with 247 wins and won a Cy Young Award with the Angels in 2005, but his career ERA of 4.12 is a little high for serious consideration.
  • Bautista had a nice run from 2010 to 2015 as the game’s top power hitter — he led the AL with 54 home runs in 2010 and 43 in 2011, and his 227 home runs over those six seasons were 28 more than Miguel Cabrerato lead all hitters — but he was late bloomer and didn’t do enough on the front end or back end of his career, and Hall of Fame voters tend to reward longevity over peak value.
  • Gonzalez (43.5 WAR) falls into the “Hall of Very Good” category, with just over 2,000 hits, 317 home runs and seven 100-RBI seasons, but the offensive bar is high for first basemen.

Other holdovers are Omar Vizquel, Andy Pettitte, Bobby Abreu, Jimmy Rollins, Mark Buehrle, Francisco Rodriguez and Torii Hunter.

After years of electing multiple candidates, the BBWAA has elected just one each of the past two years — Scott Rolen in 2023; David Ortiz in 2022 — and didn’t elect anyone in 2021.

Earlier, the Hall of Fame announced its Contemporary Era Committee ballot, which this year considered managers, executive and umpires.

The eight candidates on that ballot are managers Jim Leyland, Lou Piniella, Cito Gaston and Davey Johnson; executives Hank Peters and Bill White (who was also a fine player); and umpires Joe West and Ed Montague.

Luis Arraez Wins 2022 American League Batting Title

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Luis Arraez is celebrating a banner year…

The 25-year-old Venezuelan professional baseball utility player for the Minnesota Twins won the American League batting title, hitting a third-inning double after walking twice to finish the season at .316, as the Minnesota Twins rolled to a 10-1 victory on Wednesday over the Chicago White Sox.

Luis ArraezArraez was all but assured of topping the Yankees’ Aaron Judge for the batting crown when the day began. He removed any doubt by walking in his first two plate appearances and then hit a drive that barely cleared the glove of right fielder Gavin Sheets before he was lifted for a pinch-runner.

“It’s amazing,” Arraez said. “This was one of my goals. I’m living a dream right now. This is amazing for me because I worked hard for this.”

Judge, who sat out the New York Yankees‘ season finale, batted .311 with an AL-record 62 homers and a league-leading 131 RBIs.

“I couldn’t sleep last night, just thinking and thinking about it,” Arraez said.

Arraez becomes the fifth Twin to win a batting title, joining Rod Carew (seven), Tony Oliva and Joe Mauer (three apiece) and Kirby Puckett (one).

“I think he achieved what he was hoping to do,” Minnesota manager Rocco Baldelli said. “And he’s not a guy who normally thinks about things on a personal level like that. He’s a team player and here to win and compete.”

Arraez received a hug at the top of the dugout steps from Carlos Correa, who planned before the game to give him a Louis Vuitton roller bag in recognition of his achievement.

“[Correa] is amazing,” Arraez said. “He sets an example for us. He’s a leader, and I love that guy a lot.”

Arraez batted .361 (13-for-36) during a nine-game hitting streak to end the season.

“It wasn’t easy,” Arraez said. “But my mind is strong.”

Gary Sanchez and Jermaine Palacios homered during a six-run first inning for Minnesota, which snapped a four-game skid. The Twins finished at 78-84, a six-game improvement over 2021.

The White Sox (81-81), last year’s AL Central champions, had their three-game winning streak snapped and finished 12 games worse than their 2021 record.