The Dominican Republic will have a new immortal in Cooperstown with the inclusion of Adrian Beltre after his receiving one of the highest percent of votes for a first-ballot player in history.
Following the official announcement by the Baseball Writers Association of America(BBWAA) during a special program, Beltre led the voting with 95.1% to join the Class of2024 that includes Todd Helton (79.7%) and Joe Mauer (76.1%).
Tasked with surpassing 75% of the votes to enter the Hall, Beltre‘s name was on 366 ballots out of 385, making him the second Latin American with the second highest percentage of votes in his first appearance on the ballot, behind only Panamanian pitcher Mariano Rivera, who was voted unanimously (100%). Beltre’s 95.1 vote percentage, ties him with Babe Ruth for 17th place among all players in history.
Adrián Beltré is headed to Cooperstown!
He is a first-ballot Hall of Famer! pic.twitter.com/qNe29BJolL
— MLB (@MLB) January 23, 2024
Puerto Rican outfielder Roberto Clemente (92.69%), ranks third among Latin players, after being voted in during a special election in 1973 following his death in a plane crash.
As the fifth Dominican-born player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, Beltre joins Juan Marichal (1983), Pedro Martínez (2015), Vladimir Guerrero (2018) and David Ortiz (2022).
Beltre was born for greatness
Beltre, who played for the Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle Mariners and Boston Red Sox for 21 seasons, batted .286, with 3,166 hits (18th), 477 homers (31st), 636 doubles (11th), 1,707 RBIs (25th) and 1,524 runs scored; the only third baseman to have more than 3,000 hits and more than 450 home runs in MLB history.
The moment Adrián Beltré got the call. 👏👏 pic.twitter.com/oI8xgYnjGx
— MLB (@MLB) January 23, 2024
These numbers led him to win five Gold Gloves, two Platinum Gloves, four Silver Sluggers and four time All-Star; also, he was two time finalist for the Most Valuable Player after having defended the third pad for 2,933 games, the most for that position.
Beltre will be the 19th Latino to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony will take place on July 21st.
