'It Couldn't Have Gone Any Better': An Ode To Adrián Beltré's Time With Rangers

"I had no idea how fast I was going to fall in love with the Rangers, Rangers fans and Ranger nation. To be honest, it was the best eight years of my career." -Adrián Beltré

Author:
Chris Halicke
Aug 13, 2021 11:11 PM EDT

ARLINGTON, Texas — It was initially thought to be a consolation prize. But 10 years later, as the Texas Rangers prepare to induct him into their Hall of Fame, the signing of Adrián Beltré will go down as one of the best in the history of Major League Baseball.

"It's probably a bit of an understatement, but it couldn't have gone any better than it did — the outcome versus our expectations," said Jon Daniels, Rangers president of baseball operations. "We had high expectations. It was a step-out move for us at the time. In fact, we actually got some industry criticism for overpaying. And it was the exact opposite."

After the heartbreak of losing the 2010 World Series, the Rangers went hard after Cliff Lee, hoping to bring him back as the ace of their starting rotation and make another run. Instead, Lee opted for Philadelphia, and the Rangers lured Beltré to Texas with $96 million and a legitimate shot at winning a World Series.

"We all know that the Rangers have a really good team. I want to win," Beltre said after signing in 2011. "The team is willing to do whatever it takes to get to the next step. That's one of the factors to make my decision to come here easier."

Of course, we know the story by now. The 2011 Rangers put up the best record in franchise history, returned to the World Series, but failed to record the final out despite being one strike away twice in Game 6.

Beltré spent the final eight years of his career with the Rangers — longer than he had in Los Angeles, Seattle, or Boston — and was a central figure in the best era of baseball in Arlington. He never captured that World Series ring, but aged like a fine wine while donning Rangers red, white and blue.

On Saturday, Beltré will join Chuck Morgan, the longtime voice of Rangers ballparks, as the two members of the Texas Rangers 2021 Hall of Fame class.

"I remember when we signed him," Daniels recalled, "some of the guys in the office made the comment, like, 'we were comfortable with the deal if he was just an elite defender, and even if his offense took a step back from the year he had in Boston.' And then one of the things — I think it was AJ [Preller] who said it — he was like, 'Can you imagine if he doesn't take a step back from that? Like, how good this would be?' And that's what happened."

Anyone can go to MLB.com or Baseball Reference and look up Adrián Beltré's statistics. His numbers and career accolades don't need explaining. Beltré's legacy in Texas is similar of Nolan Ryan's. He spent his final years with the Rangers, achieved career milestones that cemented his place as one of the all-time greats, and despite spending just a fraction of his career in Texas (eight of 21 seasons), became synonymous with Texas Rangers baseball.

"Coming into Texas, I had no idea how the team was going to be," Beltré said on Thursday. "I had no idea how the fans were going to receive me. I had no idea how fast I was going to fall in love with the Rangers, Rangers fans and Ranger nation. To be honest, it was the best eight years of my career. I enjoyed every moment of it, and I couldn't have made a better decision."

Beltré exemplified playing the game with joy. He coupled on-field greatness with a free spirit that didn't shy away from the occasional silly moment. That was never more personified than in his well-documented relationship with longtime and fan-favorite shortstop Elvis Andrus. The two shared countless moments with each other. They made pop-ups fun, and every fan tuned in nightly to see if and when Elvis would get his hand on Beltré's head.

While going over all the moments in his Rangers career with the media on Thursday, Adrián took a couple of minutes to talk about his relationship with Elvis and how it's evolved over the years.

"My relationship with Elvis is special. It's special. I love the kid. The kid has a great heart. You know, I loved the way he played the game we played together. We have such a chemistry playing together, defensively. Like, we would just have to look at each other. We knew exactly what we wanted to do — specific matters and stuff like that. In the clubhouse, I liked it [even] more because he was not like young guys back then, when I got there (he's an old guy now). He was always happy. He was doing pranks. It kept me young, because I like that. I don't have to be the guy who started it. But I like that. I liked the guys who were loose. He was the guy that played the music. He was the guy that never would never shut up. And that kept the clubhouse fun. Since day one, I liked the kid and we have such a good relationship. He was just here [at my house]. He spent the night here about three weeks ago when they came to play Anaheim. Our relationship is never gonna change. We are compadres, even outside of baseball. So that chemistry, that friendship is never going to change. I love the kid, and I wish him the best."

Like his relationship with Andrus, Beltré's time in Texas was special. The only thing missing was that World Series ring. But Beltré's legacy isn't tarnished by that. Ted Williams didn't win one. Neither did Ken Griffey Jr., Ty Cobb, or Beltré's Seattle teammate Ichiro Suzuki.

The bond forged between Beltré and the fan base lives on. The respect he earned from his teammates went far beyond his ability to charge slow grounders or hit walk-off homers. His work ethic was highly praised by his peers and coaches. And it was his time in Texas that made him a surefire first ballot Hall of Famer.

But that can't become official until 2024.