Adrián Beltré

Did You Know?

• Beltré hit for the cycle three times in his career, in 2008, 2012, and 2015.
• On June 5, 2023, Beltré was named honorary general manager for the Karachi Monarchs of the Baseball United league.

Early life

Beltré was born on April 7, 1979, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and attended Liceo Máximo Gómez High School. While working out at Campo Las Palmas, a Los Angeles Dodgers facility, in 1994, he was spotted by scouts Ralph Avila and Pablo Peguero. The Dodgers signed him in July 1994 for a $23,000 signing bonus.

Professional career

Beltré made his major league debut on June 24, 1998, starting at third base for the Dodgers against the Anaheim Angels, and hit a two-out RBI double in his first at-bat. He hit his first home run six days later against the Texas Rangers. In 2004, he led MLB with 48 home runs, batting .334 with 200 hits, 121 RBI, and a .629 slugging percentage, finishing second in NL MVP voting. During spring training before the 1999 season, his agent Scott Boras discovered that the Dodgers' records listed Beltré's birth date incorrectly; Boras and Beltré went public, leading MLB to suspend the Dodgers' Dominican scouting operations for one year and award Beltré $48,500 in damages. Beltré played in the 2011 World Series for the Rangers and tied for the major league lead in hits in 2013. On July 30, 2017, he became the 31st player to reach 3,000 hits, the first Dominican to do so. He retired after the 2018 season as the all-time leader among third basemen in hits and RBIs.

Charitable and humanitarian work

Beltré has contributed to humanitarian activities in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex through the Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation and other programs. He has donated to Dave Valle's Esperanza International and foundations established by fellow players. In 2021, he helped pay to reconstruct a baseball stadium in the Dominican Republic where he grew up playing.