Why I would vote for Jose Bautista (with seven other greats) in the Baseball Hall of Fame
On Tuesday night, the Cooperstown, New York-based National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum will reveal the members of its class of 2024. The contenders on the writers’ list that will join former Pirates, Marlins, Rockies, and Tigers manager Jim Leyland, who was chosen by the committee for the current era last month, to win the highest honor in the game will be revealed.
It will take your brave columnist another seven years of BBWAA membership to receive a vote. If I had, however, there would have been three new members chosen from a group of twelve novices, along with five veterans from the same exercise from the previous year.
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A former infielder for the Seattle Mariners is nominated to the Hall of Fame
Adrian Beltre, a former third baseman for the Seattle Mariners, has been elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He also played well for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, and Texas Rangers. It was Beltre’s first time running for office.
Adrian Beltre, a former third baseman for the Seattle Mariners and a standout player for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, and Texas Rangers, has been elected into Cooperstown’s National Baseball Hall of Fame. He was on the ballot for the first time.
Joe Mauer and Todd Helton will accompany Beltre when they enter the Hall. Jim Leyland was elected as a manager as well. On July 21, they will be admitted into Cooperstown during a ceremony.
With those four clubs, Beltre played in the major leagues for 21 years, becoming one of the most accomplished players of the twenty-first century. After signing with the Dodgers and spending seven years in Los Angeles, he moved to Seattle and played for another five years. After a year in Boston, he completed eight outstanding years in Texas.
His career curve was quite intriguing, with the most of his best work coming in the latter part of his career. Although he won five Gold Glove Awards, he didn’t win one until his tenth and third seasons with the Mariners. Despite leading baseball in home runs in 2004 (48), he didn’t play in an All-Star Game until he was 31 and still a member of the Red Sox.
The “pillow contract,” in which a player signs a one-year contract with Boston to rebuild value before reentering the free agent market, was made popular by him. He was a member of three All-Star teams and was awarded three additional Gold Gloves while in Texas.
Over the course of his career, Beltre batted.286 and hit 477 home runs. In 1,707 runs, he drove in. In addition, he holds the record for most career hits for a third baseman with 3,166.
Even if his work with the Rangers is what made him most famous, he’s still a delightful part of Mariners history. He was well-known for his lighthearted rivalry with Felix Hernandez and made an appearance at T-Mobile Park in 2023 to participate in Hernandez’s induction into the Mariners Hall of Fame.
