Is Beltre a Hall of Famer?
Baseball is a game of numbers. The Hall of Fame is granted based on those numbers more often than not. One of those golden numbers is the 3000 hit mark. After being an underrated star his whole career, Adrian Beltre has finally hit that mark. No we look at the question: Is Adrian Beltre a Hall of Famer?
Since Beltre has bounced around between second tier teams such as the Mariners and Rangers, he has managed to fly under the radar for the majority of his career. He has never had the name power of some of the other 3000 hit club members such as Derek Jeter and Tony Gwynn. However, he has had a better career according to the numbers than both of those players. To go with his 3000 hits, Beltre has also been able to hit for power.
Not every player in the Hall of Fame had as big of a name as Yogi Berra or Hank Aaron. So then it becomes a game of numbers. Beltre has quietly put together one of the best current careers in the MLB. He has 454 career home runs to go with 1607 RBI's. Both of those numbers are highly respectable for a player. But the golden number that has him in consideration is the 3000 hits. He is still playing at a high level and just hit his 3000th hit on Sunday.
Beltre may not be as well known as some of the other's on this list, but he has more then earned his place in Cooperstown. He is the first Dominican-born player to have 3000 hits and he has a career along the same path as Roberto Clemente and Rickey Henderson. He was built in the rare model of a power hitter that also hit for average. He was one of the best hitters of his era that never really received the recognition that he deserved. It may take him a few tries but he will eventually get his bust in Cooperstown and he will deserve it.
