Dave McCullough started up a series we'll be doing on the .com about active players who may, or may not, be Hall of Fame bound. We kick it off with Adrian Beltre who has had a bit of a rollercoaster career.
Beltre broke into the majors at the tender age of 19, playing 77 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers before the turn of the century (1998). He is one of 5 players (Rodriguez, Bartolo Colon, David Ortiz, and A.J. Pierzynski) to have debuted before 2000 to still toil in the big leagues uniform, and one of three still producing at a high level. Beltre’s early years in LA revealed him to be a tremendous defender at third base, and a hitter with good, but not great skills. It took until his sixth season in the majors for him to flash the power that has carried him through the second half of his career, blasting 48 homers at the age of 25. This is all the more impressive as his home park, the Dodgers Chavez Ravine stadium, is a notorious pitcher’s park, depressing both power and average.
Beltre’s breakout season came at the right time, as his contract expired after that 2004 season, and he hit the market as a 26-year-old with a good defensive reputation and a second-place MVP finish on his resume. The Seattle Mariners – who played their home games in cavernous Safeco Field – outbid his other suitors and awarded the free agent third baseman a five-year, 64 million dollar contract.