'We Disappointed A Lot of People.' Adrián Beltré Relieved Texas Rangers Won Title Ahead of Hall of Fame Induction

Less than three months after the Texas Rangers won their first World Series title, one of the club's most beloved players, Adrián Beltré, is a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

What a wonderful time to be a Texas Rangers fan.

A World Series championship, and now one of the franchise's most beloved players is going into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Adrián Beltré received 95.1% of the vote in his first year of eligibility to earn election into the Hall of Fame, along with Twins catcher Joe Mauer and Rockies first baseman Todd Helton.

The trio will be inducted during the Hall of Fame ceremony on July 21 in Cooperstown, N.Y.

Beltré, 44, who played with the Rangers from 2011-2019, earned his Hall of Fame credentials less than three months after the Rangers won their first World Series title on Nov. 1. Beltré was there at Chase Field in Phoenix that night, celebrating the championship.

"It was such a nice moment seeing them win this last season. I was grateful enough that they invited me to come see the games and be a part of it,"  Beltré said during a Hall of Fame Zoom teleconference. "I was super grateful."

He also felt relief for the organization and for all of the long-suffering fans who had waited decades for a title.

The moment Adrián Beltré got the call. 👏👏 pic.twitter.com/oI8xgYnjGx

— MLB (@MLB) January 23, 2024

"I felt relieved because, in 2011, we got so close," said Beltré, who received 366 votes of the 385 votes submitted. "One of the reasons I went to Dallas is I wanted to be a world champion. I believed at that time they gave me the best chance and we proved that we had pretty much the best team until Game 6. It didn’t happen. But at that time, I felt like myself and the group playing together that year, we disappointed a lot of people in Dallas and in Texas."

The championship over the Arizona Diamondbacks in five games took the monkey off the club's back, Beltré said. The championship celebration will continue throughout the 2024 season with an array of events, including the Opening Day ring ceremony and fan giveaways.

"They can actually call themselves champions. So I feel really happy for them, and I’ll always be a fan of the Texas Rangers," Beltré said.

And he can now call himself a Hall of Famer.

You can follow Stefan Stevenson on X @StefanVersusTex.

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