Adrian Beltre, 45, a longtime fan favorite for his skill and work ethic, was honored by his family when he was selected as a 2024 inductee into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. Given his career, a Hall of Fame induction was a long-shot, and it was.
Beltre was a hard-hitting third baseman who made his major league debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1998 and played in 2,933 games in the majors until his career ended with Texas in 2018, batting .286 with 477 home runs and 1,707 RBIs. He was a four-time All-Star and a four-time Silver Slugger at third base. He was also one of the league’s premier defenders. He was a five-time Gold Glove winner, including two Platinum Gold Glove awards, the “king of them all”.
However, Beltre was eligible for the first time on the 2024 Hall of Fame ballot and was inducted on the first turn. A whopping 366 of the 385 eligible voters cast ballots for Beltre. With 95.1% of the vote, it was an overwhelming endorsement. Beltre chose to enter the Hall of Fame wearing the Texas cap he spent the most time in (eight years) during his 21-year career, and the Lone Star State went all out for him. Not only did they organize a press conference, but they also flew Beltre’s teammates to Arlington to honor him.
One of those players was Shin-Soo Choo, 42, SSG, who was preparing for his final season at home in Texas in January. Choo played for the Texans for seven years, from 2014 to 2020. Beltre played from 2011 to 2018, overlapping his time with Texas. Beltre taught Shin-Soo Choo how to be a leader in the clubhouse, and when Beltre retired, Shin-Soo Choo stepped up to the plate. Texas hasn’t forgotten about Shin-Soo Choo, either.
“The day before the event, Texas reached out to me and said, ‘We’d love for you to come to an event about Beltre,'” he says. I hadn’t been to a Rangers game in a long time, and it brought back a lot of memories. “I went and saw Beltre, and I saw all the guys I used to play with, like Cole Hamels, and I congratulated him, and I went into the press conference and sat with him when he was being interviewed,” he says with a big smile on his face.
“I was actually in the team for seven years, but I didn’t think I made an impact, but I was so grateful that the club reached out to me,” he said, expressing both regret and gratitude to the club. “I thought a lot about the past while watching Beltre and the players gathered, and I felt proud to be among these great players,” he said. Despite the short time frame, Choo also felt that the culture of bringing together athletes from all over the United States at one time was amazing.
Beltre was also asked an unusual favor. He offered to coach the event. “I was doing personal training before the season,” says Choo. “I was doing some personal training 스포츠토토 before the season, and I asked Beltre how he was doing, and I said, ‘I’m going to Florida (for SSG Camp) in a little bit,’ and he said, ‘I want you to come coach me,'” he laughs. It was an event, not an official coach, but it was pretty big.
The 2024 Major League Baseball All-Star Game will be played at Globe Life Field in Arlington, home of Texas. It will be the first time Texas has hosted the All-Star Game in 29 years. The All-Star Game will be preceded by the All-Star Futures Game, a gathering of major league prospects, with Beltre and Michael Young serving as team managers. Beltre reached out to Shin-Soo Choo and asked if he would be willing to coach his team.
Shin-soo Choo, who personally played in two Futures Games as a child, said, “Beltre wanted to use me as a coach, but when I looked at the schedule, the KBO was in season. I wanted to go if it overlapped with the All-Star break, but I couldn’t. So I told him I couldn’t go,” he said, “but I would have talked to people I knew well from my playing days. I was honored beyond words to have a player like Beltre ask me,” he laughs.