Former Red Sox 3B Adrian Beltre elected to Baseball Hall of Fame

Adrian Beltre finished ninth in AL MVP voting in his lone season with the Red Sox in 2010.

Adrian Beltre earned an All-Star nod during his lone season in Boston. Barry Chin / The Boston Globe

January 23, 2024

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Former Red Sox third baseman Adrian Beltre is heading to Cooperstown.

The slugging corner infielder with an unshakable defensive game was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame Tuesday — earning 95.1 percent of the vote during his first year on the ballot.

Beltre stands as just the 19th third baseman to earn a spot in the Hall of Fame, joining Wade Boggs, George Brett, Chipper Jones, Brooks Robinson, and Mike Schmidt as the only players on the hot corner elected on the first ballot.

Beltre, 44, was one of the most complete players of his era, collecting 3,166 hits, 477 home runs, 636 doubles, and five Gold Gloves over his 21-year career.

Only one of those 21 campaigns was spent with the Red Sox, with Beltre compiling one of the most impressive one-and-done seasons for an athlete in Boston.

Congrats to Red Sox legend Adrian Beltre on being a first-ballot Hall of Famer.pic.twitter.com/024zXEtaKZ
— Tyler Milliken ⚾️ (@tylermilliken_) January 23, 2024

Coming off an injury-plagued 2009 season with the Mariners, Beltre was seemingly at the crossroads of his career that offseason — with the 31-year-old eventually signing a one-year, $10 million contract in Boston in hopes of recouping his value.

Beltre made the most of his opportunity with Boston. He earned the first All-Star nod of his career with the Red Sox, batting .321 and posting 28 home runs, a league-leading 49 doubles, 102 RBI and a .919 OPS. He took home a Silver Slugger and finished ninth overall in AL MVP voting.

Ultimately, the Red Sox let Beltre walk in free agency that fall, with the third baseman later signing a six-year, $96 million deal with the Rangers in January 2011.

Boston opted to trade for Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez instead, shifting Kevin Youkilis back over to third base in a corresponding move.

Gonzalez only played one full season with the Red Sox before getting traded to the Dodgers in August 2012 in a payroll-clearing move. Meanwhile, Beltre continued to thrive after arriving in Texas.

Beltre ultimately rounded out his career with eight seasons in Texas, slashing .304/.357/.509/.865 with 239 doubles, 199 home runs, and 699 RBI. He led Texas to four playoff berths, earned three more All-Star nods and three Gold Gloves, and finished in the top 10 in AL MVP voting four times with the Rangers.

Two other former star players finished above the 75% threshold required to earn a spot in Cooperstown on Tuesday, with Beltre joined by catcher Joe Mauer (76.1 percent) and first baseman Todd Helton (79.7 percent).

Closer Billy Wagner, who pitched for the Red Sox in 2009, came up just short with 73.8% of the vote.

Red Sox legend Manny Ramirez, who has seen his Hall-of-Fame candidacy marred by several PED results, received just 32.5% of the vote, down from 33.2% in 2023.

Former Red Sox players Bartolo Colon (2008), Brandon Phillips (2018), Victor Martínez (2009-10) and González (2011-12) didn’t reach the five-percent threshold to remain on the ballot in 2024