Adrian Beltre, Todd Helton and Joe Mauer are the three players who will enter the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2024.
They were elected by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America on Tuesday. They will officially become Cooperstown Immortals on July 21, during an induction ceremony.
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Beltre, who wore the uniform of four major baseball teams, especially distinguished himself in the second half of his career, with the Texas Rangers. Improving like good wine, he won his five Golden Gloves starting at the age of 28. He also got his hands on so many Silver Bats, being considered one of the best third basemen in history.
The Dominican, who will be the fifth representative of his country in the pantheon, reached the legendary plateau of 400 circuits, ending his career with 477 long balls. His 21-season career with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox and Rangers stretched from 1998 to 2018.
“A special day for us, the Dominicans,” former Montreal Expos Vladimir Guerrero said on X. Beltre, my brother, welcome to Cooperstown. A true gentleman on and off the field.”
AFP
An exceptional hitter
As with Beltre, Mauer received favor from the columnists in his first year of eligibility. The one who spent his entire time in the majors with the Minnesota Twins was a crowd favorite.
A consistent hitter, the American twice led major league baseball in batting average. He showed his best statistics in 2009, with a .365 average, which earned him the American League MVP award.
Mauer is also the only catcher to win three batting titles. The very first pick in the 2001 draft retired in 2018 due to concussions.
With Larry Walker
Helton, meanwhile, will be only the second Colorado Rockies representative to enter Cooperstown, after Larry Walker. He and the former Montreal Expos shared the field for several years, between 1997 and 2004.
Like Mauer, he earned a reputation for his consistency, finishing his 17-season career with a .316 batting average. He got his hands on four Silver Staffs and three Golden Gloves.
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The Tennessee native had to wait a few years before his induction into the Temple, he who had received only 16.5% of the votes in 2019. Remember that 75% of voters had to have his name on their ballot.
Beltre (95.1%) passed without problems, but it was tighter for Helton (79.7%) and Mauer (76.1%). Houston Astros great Billy Wagner (73.8%) came very close to being elected in his penultimate year of eligibility.
2024-01-24 01:12:42
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