Beloved Texas Rangers Legend on Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot

The Texas Rangers may have another Hall of Famer headed to Cooperstown next July in the form of Adrián Beltré.

Former Texas Rangers third baseman Adrián Beltré is on the ballot for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024.

The Hall of Fame released the ballot on Monday, which includes 26 players.

Beltré is on the ballot for the first time since retiring five years ago. He's one of 12 first-time nominees. Other prominent first-timers include Minnesota’s Joe Mauer and Philadelphia’s Chase Utley. Players aren't eligible for nomination until five years after retiring.

Beltré is already a member of the Rangers Hall of Fame and has had his No. 29 retired by the team.

Other first-time candidates include José Bautista, Bartolo Colon, Adrián González, Matt Holliday, Brandon Phillips, José Reyes, James Shields and David Wright.

The Hall of Fame’s voters are members of the Baseball Writers Association of America, and they must have their ballot in by Dec. 31. The full class will be announced on Jan. 23. The ceremony will be on July 21 in Cooperstown, N.Y.

A candidate must receive 75 percent of the vote for induction.

His credentials should make him a prime candidate for induction. He hit .286 for his career, with 3,166 hits and 477 home runs. He also drove in 1,707 runs in a career that saw him play for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox and the Rangers. He played the final eight years of his career in Arlington.

He was a four-time All-Star selection, won five Gold Gloves — three with the Rangers — and four Silver Slugger Awards, two with Texas.

He also led the National League in home runs in 2004.

One of the key benchmarks of Beltre’s career is his 3,166 hits. He is one of 33 players with 3,000 or more hits. Not all of them are in the Hall of Fame. Some are not eligible yet, such as Beltré’s countryman, Albert Pujols, and Seattle’s Ichiro Suzuki, who will be eligible in 2025.

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