The Dominican Adrian Beltré, former third baseman, along with Todd Helton, Colorado Rockies legend; Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins icon, and Jim Leyland, World Series champion architect of the Miami Marlins, were inducted into the Hall of Fame on Sunday.
In the 2024 class of the Hall of Fame, Beltré, Helton, Mauer and Leyland received their induction, with Cooperstown, New York, as the venue, under the presidency of Josh Rawitch.
Originally from Santo Domingo and 45 years old, Adrian Beltré is now the fifth Dominican to be honored in Cooperstown, joining Juan Marichal (1983), Pedro Martínez (2015), Vladimir Guerrero (2018), and David Ortiz (2022).
Beltré is also the 19th Latin American player to be considered among the most legendary in the history of Major League Baseball.
With six members, Cuba is the country with the most figures in the Hall of Fame of Major League Baseball, followed by Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic with five each, Panama with two, and Venezuela with one.
“I feel incredibly proud to be a Latin player in the Hall of Fame and the fifth Dominican to achieve it. It’s a huge honor for me”, Beltré expressed, who had a distinguished career with the Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle Mariners, and Boston Red Sox.
At Beltré’s request, the Texas Rangers cap was chosen to be engraved on his plaque, which is now adorning the Hall of Fame.
The immortal number 29 began his career in 1998 and announced his retirement in September 2018.
Several Dominican fans traveled to the Clark Sports Center in Cooperstown, where the formal ceremony was held, and accompanied by tambourine and guira, filled the event with joy.
“I thank my Dominican Republic, proud always to be Dominican and to have been born in the beautiful Quisqueya”, Beltré stated during his speech, which lasted over 10 minutes.
Beltré gained entry to the Hall of Fame with 95.1% of the votes from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA).
In his 21-year career, he was selected for the All-Star Game four times, won the Gold Glove five times, and was awarded the Silver Slugger four times.
credits of the images of this post: Elnacional.com.do
