ARCHIVO – Adrián Beltré de los Rangers de Texas saluda durante el quinto inning de un juego contra los Marineros de Seattle, el 30 de septiembre de 2018, en Seattle. (AP Foto/Ted S. Warren)
Adrian Beltre, Joe Mauer, and Todd Helton have been elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame and will represent its Class of 2024, as voted on by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) and revealed on Tuesday evening.
This is the first time since 2020 when Derek Jeter and Larry Walker were chosen that a BBWAA Hall-of-Fame vote has resulted in more than one inductee.
Beltre headlines the class and garnered the most votes, accruing 95.1% of the nearly 400 ballots cast this winter in what was his first year on the ballot.
Playing from 1998-2008 with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, and Texas Rangers, Beltre amassed 3,166 hits (18th in MLB history) and 477 home runs, becoming the only third baseman in MLB history to surpass both the 3,000-hit and 450-home-run plateau.
The four-time All-Star was also a four-time Silver Slugger Award winner, a five-time Gold Glove Award recipient, and a two-time Platinum Glove winner.
He is joined by another first-year inductee in Mauer, who was one of the finest catchers of his generation during his time with the Minnesota Twins from 2004-2018. He is the only catcher in MLB history to win three batting titles, which he did in 2006, 2008, and 2009.
There had been only four other instances in which a catcher won a batting title in MLB history.
During that 2009 campaign, he batted .365 with a 1.031 OPS, 28 home runs, and 96 RBI, which earned him the American League MVP. It’s atop his finest honors in a distinguished career that included six All-Star selections, five Silver Sluggers, and three Gold Gloves.
He is the only catcher in MLB history with at least 2,000 hits (2,123), a .300 career average (.306), and a .380 on-base percentage (.388).
Helton had to wait considerably longer than his…
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