Adrian Beltre, Todd Helton and Joe Mauer are the three players who will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2024.
They were chosen Tuesday by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. They will officially become the Cooperstown Immortals at an induction ceremony on July 21st.
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Beltre, who wore the uniforms of four major baseball teams, particularly excelled in the second half of his career with the Texas Rangers. He improved like fine wine and won his five Golden Gloves at the age of 28. He also got his hands on so many Silver Bats and is considered one of the best third basemen in history.
The Dominican, who will be his country's fifth representative in the pantheon, reached the legendary plateau of 400 runs and ended his career with 477 long balls. His 21-year career with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox and Rangers spanned from 1998 to 2018.
“A special day for us, the Dominicans,” said former Montreal Expos Vladimir Guerrero on X. Beltre, my brother, welcome to Cooperstown. A true gentleman on and off the field.”
AFP
An exceptional batsman
Like Beltre, Mauer received favor from columnists in his first year of admission. The one who spent his entire time in the majors with the Minnesota Twins was a fan favorite.
A consistent hitter, the American twice led Major League Baseball in batting average. His best stats came in 2009 with a .365 average, which earned him American League MVP honors.
Mauer is also the only catcher to win three batting titles. The very first pick in the 2001 draft was withdrawn in 2018 due to concussions.
With Larry Walker
Helton will be only the second Colorado Rockies representative to enter Cooperstown, joining Larry Walker. He and the former Montreal Expos shared the field for several years, between 1997 and 2004.
Like Mauer, he gained a reputation for his consistency and finished his 17-year career with a .316 batting average. He got his hands on four silver rods and three golden gloves.
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The Tennessee native had to wait a few years to be accepted into the temple, having only received 16.5% of the vote in 2019. Remember, 75% of voters had to have his name on their ballot.
Beltre (95.1%) passed without any 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 selected in his penultimate year of eligibility.