After 21 incredible seasons, former Los Angeles Dodgers and Texas Rangers star Adrian Beltre announced his retirement from baseball.
The Dodgers signed Beltre out of the Dominican Republic when he was just 15 years old and he went on to make his Major League debut in 1998 at 19 years of age. Beltre spent seven years with the Dodgers, and his last season in the organization in 2004 was the best of his career.
That year saw him bat .334/.388/.629 with 48 home runs and 121 RBI. After leaving the Dodgers, Beltre went on to play for the Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox and then finished his final eight seasons with the Rangers.
He was named an All-Star four times in his career while also winning four Silver Slugger awards and five Gold Gloves. Beltre will likely be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, completing his career with 3,166 hits and 477 home runs, which are among the most all-time for a third baseman.
In his retirement announcement, former Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda was among the many people Beltre thanked:
#ThankYouAB pic.twitter.com/wZO9K18yVJ
— #ThankYouAB (@Rangers) November 20, 2018
Beltre had the chance to return to Dodger Stadium and play his former team twice in 2018, during which he revealed that he wished he could have played his whole career with the Dodgers. While that didn’t end up being the case, he expressed his gratitude to the organization’s fans for how well they treated him over the years.
If he wanted to, Beltre actually had an opportunity to see his career come full circle and finish it out with the Dodgers as they inquired on him before the waiver trade deadline this season. Beltre had a no-trade clause and preferred to finish out 2018 in Texas, so the Dodgers wound up acquiring David Freese instead.
Very few players have ever had the talent that Beltre possessed while also enjoying the game as much as he did, so while it is sad to see his career coming to an end, he should absolutely be celebrated as one of the best to ever step foot on a field.
