Adrián Beltré: Santo Domingo to 2004 Dodgers Stardom to Cooperstown in 2024

Adrián Beltré, born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (DR), on April 7, 1979, was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers [illegally] at 15, and made his MLB debut for them on June 24, 1998, at 19. He replaced 36-year-old Bobby Bonilla at third in the Dodgers’ line-up and went 2-for-5 versus the Anaheim Angels. Bonilla played six total Puerto Rico Winter League (PRWL) seasons with San Juan and Mayagüez (1983-88), plus 1995-96 with Caguas. Beltré’s entire big-league career is classified as MLB, due to Inter-League games from 1998 on. By comparison, Brooks Robinson played American League (AL) regular season games with Baltimore, and Mike Schmidt only participated in National League (NL) regular season contests with Philadelphia. This blog covers Beltré’s 21-year MLB career with the Dodgers, Mariners, Red Sox, and Texas Rangers, from 1998-2018. It highlights his Dominican Winter League (LIDOM) career. Most importantly, it compares Beltré’s stats to other third basemen enshrined in Cooperstown, plus Ron Cey, one of the author’s favorite players. Beltré played at 5-11, 220 pounds.

He was called Kojak in the LIDOM

Beltré’s LIDOM nickname was Kojak, due to his closely-cropped, nearly bald hairstyle. He played for four teams in five LIDOM seasons and was 1998-99 League MVP with Águilas Cibaeñas (AC), followed by MVP, 1999-2000 LIDOM finals with Estrellas Orientales (EO). Beltré reinforced the Licey Tigers in the 1999 Caribbean Series, hosted by San Juan, at Hiram Bithorn Stadium, in the Hato Rey section of Puerto Rico’s capital. His second Caribbean Series was reinforcing AC in Santo Domingo, in February 2000. The author’s 2024 book on Caribbean Series History will furnish more details on Beltré in these events. Table I highlights his LIDOM regular season and post-season stats. Beltré was involved in a 12-player LIDOM trade on September 8, 2001, when the Azucareros del Este traded him, infielder Wilton Guerrero, and pitchers Miguel Batista and Luis Pineda to the Escogido Lions for eight players. The purpose of LIDOM and PRWL teams was, and is, to win, not develop players.

Adrián Beltré, 1998-99 MVP with Águilas Cibaeñas. Photo credit:

Table I: Adrián Beltré’s LIDOM Regular Season and Post-Season Hitting Stats, 1996-2000, 2001-02

Team	Season	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
Azucareros	1996-97	30	62	9	13	2	1	0	4	.210	.324	.274	.598
Azucareros	1997-98	40	114	18	25	7	2	1	11	.219	.286	.342	.628
AC	1998-99	58	226	39#	68	9	0	10	37	.301	.365	.473	.838
EO	1999-00	8	25	3	9	3	0	0	4	.360	.484	.480	.96
Escogido	2001-02	1	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000
Totals		137	431	69	115	21	3	11	56	.267	.343	.406	.749
Team	Playoffs
Azucareros	1996-97	8	15	1	3	1	0	0	0	.200	.333	.267	.600
AC (finals)	1998-99	4	16	1	2	0	0	1	3	.125	.176	.313	.489
EO (round-robin)	1999-00	18	62	11	18	5	0	4	18	.290	.451	.565	1.016
EO (finals)	1999-00	7	28	4	9	1	0	3	11	.321	.375	.679	1.054
Totals		37	121	17	32	7	0	8	32	.264	.389	.521	.910

#Led league. He stole 17 bases in 1998-99; and caught three times. Source: winterball data—LIDOM subscription.

Minor League and MLB Success

Table II depicts Beltré’s minor-league and MLB season-by-season hitting stats, including rehab assignments. He finished second to Barry Bonds in the 2004 NL MVP voting and won the first of four Silver Sluggers. His five Gold Gloves came with Seattle (2007-2008) and Texas (2011-2012, 2016). Beltré helped Texas reach the 2011 World Series and strengthened his Cooperstown credentials, age 31-39, with Boston (2010) and Texas (2011-2018).

Table II: Beltré’s Hitting Stats in the Minors and MLB

Season	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
1996	Savannah	68	244	48	75	14	3	16	59	.307	.406	.586	.992
1996	San Bernardino	63	238	40	62	13	1	20	40	.261	.322	.450	.772
1997	Vero Beach	123	435	95	138	24	2	26	104	.317	.407	.561	.968
1998	San Antonio	64	246	49	79	21	2	13	56	.321	.411	.581	.992
2001	Vero Beach	3	9	0	4	1	0	0	1	.444	.583	.556	1.139
2001	Las Vegas	2	5	2	3	1	0	1	2	.600	.714	1.400	2.114
2011	Round Rock	2	8	1	2	0	0	0	0	.250	.250	.250	.500
	Minors (5)	325	1185	235	363	74	8	66	262	.306	.393	.549	.943
1998	LAD	77	195	18	42	9	0	7	22	.215	.278	.369	.648
1999	LAD	152	538	84	148	27	5	15	67	.275	.353	.428	.780
2000	LAD	138	510	71	148	30	2	20	85	.290	.360	.475	.835
2001	LAD	126	475	59	126	22	4	13	60	.265	.310	.411	.720
2002	LAD	159	587	70	151	26	5	21	75	.257	.303	.426	.729
2003	LAD	158	559	50	134	30	2	23	80	.240	.290	.424	.714
2004	LAD	156	598	104	200	32	0	48!	121	.334	.388	.629	1.017
2005	SEA	156	603	69	154	36	1	19	87	.255	.303	.413	.716
2006	SEA	156	620	88	166	39	4	25	89	.268	.328	.465	.792
2007	SEA	149	595	87	164	41	2	26	99	.276	.319	.482	.802
2008	SEA	143	556	74	148	29	1	25	77	.266	.327	.457	.784
2009	SEA	111	449	54	119	27	0	8	44	.265	.304	.379	.683
2010	BOS	154	589	84	189	49!	2	28	102	.321	.365	.553	.919
2011	TEX	124	487	82	144	33	0	32	105	.296	.331	.561	.892
2012	TEX	156	604	95	194	33	2	36	102	.321	.359	.561	.921
2013	TEX	161	631	88	199!	32	0	30	92	.315	.371	.509	.880
2014	TEX	148	549	79	178	33	1	19	77	.324	.388	.492	.879
2015	TEX	143	567	83	163	32	4	18	83	.287	.334	.453	.788
2016	TEX	153	583	89	175	31	1	32	104	.300	.358	.521	.879
2017	TEX	94	340	47	106	22	1	17	71	.312	.383	.532	.915
2018	TEX	119	433	49	118	23	1	15	65	.273	.328	.434	.763
MLB	Totals (21)	2933	11068	1524	3166	636	38	477	1707	.286	.339	.480	.819
	Post-Season
2004	LAD NLDS	4	15	1	4	0	0	0	1	.267	.250	.267	.517
2011	TEX ALDS	4	15	5	4	0	0	3	4	.267	.313	.867	1.179
2011	TEX ALCS	6	27	4	6	3	0	0	2	.222	.276	.333	.609
2011	TEX WS	7	30	5	9	2	0	2	3	.300	.323	.567	.889
2012	TEX WC	1	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000
2015	TEX ALDS	3	9	0	4	0	0	0	1	.444	.500	.444	.944
2016	TEX ALDS	3	11	1	2	1	0	0	0	.182	.250	.273	.523
Totals	Post-Season	28	111	16	29	6	0	5	11	.261	.297	.450	.747

!Led league. Source: Baseball Reference.

Beltré’s Three Cycles

On September 1, 2008, Beltré went 5-for-6 with two singles, a double, a triple, and a homer in Seattle’s 12-6 win at Texas. Four years later he was 4-for-4 (August 24, 2012) at the same ballpark for Texas, versus Minnesota, a second cycle, an 8-0 win. Then, his third cycle, August 3, 2015, at Globe Life Park in Arlington, came in a 12-9 victory over Minnesota with four hits in five at-bats. Beltré is just one of five big leaguers to hit for the cycle three times in the past century. The other four include:

• Bob Meusel, New York Yankees, May 7, 1921, July 3, 1922, and July 26, 1928;
• Babe Herman, Brooklyn Dodgers, May 18 and July 24, 1931; and Chicago Cubs, September 30, 1933;
• Trea Turner, Washington Nationals, April 25, 2017; July 23, 2019; and June 30, 2021;
• Christian Yelich, Milwaukee Brewers, August 29 and September 17, 2018; Milwaukee Brewers, May 11, 2022.

Eighteen Members of 600 Double Club

Beltré’s 636 career doubles place him at #11 behind Honus Wagner’s 643. The “Elite Eighteen” played 20+ big-league seasons. They include: Tris Speaker-792, Pete Rose-746, Stan Musial-725, Ty Cobb-724, Albert Pujols-686, Craig Biggio-668, George Brett-665, Nap Lajoie-657, Carl Yastrzemski-646, Honus Wagner-643, Beltré-636, David Ortiz-632, Miguel Cabrera- 627, Hank Aaron-624, Paul Molitor-605, Paul Waner-605, Cal Ripken Jr.-603, and Barry Bonds-601.

Beltré’s Home Run Prowess

Four big leaguers who played at least 75 percent of their career games at third base hit over 400 homers:

• Mike Schmidt, 1972-1989 Phillies, 548 total (515 playing third);
• Eddie Mathews, 1952-1966 Braves, 1967-68 Astros, 1968 Tigers, 512 total (496 playing third);
• Adrián Beltré, 1998-2004 Dodgers, 2005-09 Mariners, 2010 Red Sox, 2011-2018  Rangers, 477 total (477 playing third);
• Chipper Jones, 1993, 1995-2012 Braves, 468 total (415 playing third).                                             

Beltré’s Fielding Excellence

Brooks Robinson played more games at third than Beltré, 2,870-2,759, and more innings at the hot corner, 25,035.2 to 23,840. Beltré’s 2,933 career games included 156 as DH, seven at shortstop, and one at second base. Robinson’s 2,896 contests included 25 at second and five at shortstop. Table III compares Beltré’s big-league fielding stats to selected other third basemen.

Table III: Fielding Stats for Selected Retired Major League Third Basemen

Player	Games#	Putouts	Assists	Errors	DP	GG!	FLD%
Brooks Robinson	2870	2697	6205	263	618	16	.971
Adrián Beltré	2759	2194	5182	311	523	5	.960
Wade Boggs	2215	1550	4475	229	423	2	.962
Mike Schmidt	2212	1591	5045	313	495	10	.955
Eddie Mathews	2181	2049	4322	293	369	0	.956
Ron Santo	2130	1955	4581	317	395	5	.954
Scott Rolen	2023	1478	4081	186	355	8	.968
Chipper Jones	1992	1159	3447	223	276	0	.954
Ron Cey	1989	1500	4018	223	315	0	.961
George Brett	1692	1372	3674	261	307	1	.951

#Third base only. !Gold Gloves. Source: Baseball Reference.

Table IV lists four advanced metrics for 10 third basemen: Wins Above Replacement (WAR), Offensive WAR (oWAR), Defensive WAR (dWAR), and Weighted On-Base Average (wOBA). It includes the percentage of big-league games they played at third. Beltré was third in WAR and played 94.1 percent of his games at third. His .350 wOBA is solid but only higher than Brooks Robinson’s .322 wOBA for these 10-third sackers. George Brett’s offense overshadowed his defense. He played five of every eight major league games at third.

Table IV: Four Advanced Metrics for these 10 Third Basemen

Player	WAR	oWAR	dWAR	wOBA	3B G%
Mike Schmidt	106.8	91.8	18.4	.395	92.0
Eddie Mathews	96.0	93.7	5.6	.389	91.2
Adrián Beltré	93.5	71.6	27.0	.350	94.1
Wade Boggs	91.4	81.4	13.9	.381	90.8
George Brett	88.6	84.8	2.2	.374	62.5
Chipper Jones	85.3	88.3	-0.9	.397	79.7
Brooks Robinson	78.4	47.7	39.1	.322	99.1
Ron Santo	70.5	66.6	8.7	.367	94.9
Scott Rolen	70.1	52.8	21.2	.368	99.3
Ron Cey	53.8	50.7	6.6	.356	95.9

Source: Baseball Reference.

Beltré’s Best Season Versus Mike Schmidt’s Best Campaign

Mike Schmidt opined that his two seasons with Caguas, 1972-74, were “helpful to his big-league career.” Jerry Morales, Schmidt’s Caguas teammate, hit 14 homers in 1973-74, as their leadoff hitter, to Schmidt’s 12. Arecibo’s Benny Ayala’s 14 homers tied Morales to lead the PRWL. Caguas won the 1974 Caribbean Series in Mexico, one of the highlights of Schmidt’s professional career, per Morales. Ron Cey starred for the 1972-73 Santurce Crabbers with a .298 BA, seven homers, and 43 RBIs. He affirmed the PRWL was “instrumental in becoming the regular third baseman for the 1973 Los Angeles Dodgers.” Wade Boggs posted a .354 BA for the 1981-82 Bayamón Cowboys before his AL debut with 1982 Boston. He benefitted from the PRWL. Boggs lived at Aguadilla’s Ramey Air Force Base as a child when his dad was stationed there. “Puerto Rico was a stepping stone that I used,” said Boggs. “I was on the verge of playing in the major leagues when I got there.” Table V contrasts Schmidt’s 1980 NL hitting stats with Beltré’s 2004 hitting stats. Schmidt won his first of three NL MVP Awards in 1980.

Table V: Mike Schmidt’s 1980 PHI Hitting Stats and Adrián Beltré’s 2004 LAD Hitting Stats

Season	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
1980	PHI	150	548	104	157	25	8	48	121	.286	.380	.624	1.004
2004	LAD	156	598	104	200	32	0	48	121	.334	.388	.629	1.017

Source: Baseball Reference.

What Percentage of the Cooperstown Vote Should Adrián Beltré Get for his 2024 Induction?

Of 18 big leaguers inducted in Cooperstown—who were third basemen—nine (half) were voted in the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA). Nine (half) came in via Committees including two per a special Negro Leaguers vote. Steve Henson, writing in the Los Angeles Times, on November 21, 2023, stated that “Beltré is a Hall of Fame lock 20 years after the Dodgers let him get away.” https://sports.yahoo.com/adri-n-beltr-considered-hall-195845850.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall Per Henson, “Beltré’s consistent production, clubhouse popularity, and distance from any connection to performance-enhancing drugs should give him an overwhelming chance to get the requisite 75% of votes from the BWWAA in his first year on the ballot.” Table VI summarizes past voting patterns for Cooperstown Inductees who mainly played third base.

Table VI: Historical Voting Patterns, Third Basemen Enshrined in Cooperstown

Player	Year	Voting Results/Other	Percent of Vote
Jimmy Collins	1945	Old-Timers Committee	Not Available (NA)
Pie Traynor	1948	93 votes/121 ballots	76.9
Frank “Home Run” Baker	1955	Veterans Committee	NA
Judy Johnson	1975	Negro Leagues	NA
Fred Lindstrom	1976	Veterans Committee	NA
Eddie Mathews	1978	301 votes/379 ballots	79.4
George Kell	1983	Veterans Committee	NA
Brooks Robinson	1983	344 votes/374 ballots	92.0
Ray Dandridge	1987	Veterans Committee	NA
Mike Schmidt	1995	444 votes/460 ballots	96.5
George Brett	1999	488 votes/497 ballots	98.2
Paul Molitor^	2004	431 votes/506 ballots	85.2
Wade Boggs	2005	474 votes/516 ballots	91.8
Jud Wilson#	2006	Negro Leagues	NA
Ron Santo	2012	Golden Era Committee	93.8
Deacon White	2013	Pre-Integration	87.5
Chipper Jones	2018	410 votes/422 ballots	97.2
Scott Rolen	2023	297 votes/389 ballots	76.3

^Molitor was a DH 1991-98. #Wilson also played first base. Many sources.

Postscript

Brooks Robinson, one of 11 Baltimore Orioles prospects who played winter ball with 1955-56 Willard Blues in Colombia, at 18, hit nine homers for the 1957-58 Cienfuegos Elephants in Cuba, tying for the league lead. Dick Hall, his Baltimore teammate most of the 1960s, 1970, and 1971, spoke fluent Spanish, having married a lady from Mazatlán, Mexico, while playing winter ball there. After Baltimore won the 1970 World Series, Brooks Robinson ensured Hall translated Spanish-speaking interviews with Cubans Miguel Cuéllar and Marcelino López. https://sabr.org/journal/article/dick-halls-baltimore-legacy/

Thanks to Wade Boggs, Ron Cey, Dick Hall, Jerry Morales, and Mike Schmidt. Jorge Colón Delgado did the editing and photo placements.