5 Best Moments in Texas Rangers History

Number 4: Adrian Beltre hits number 3,000

Adrian Beltre is not a homegrown product. He was adopted into the Texas Rangers family in 2011 and fans came to love him as if he was drafted and developed by the team. He was signed in 2011 after the Rangers failed to come to an agreement with Cliff Lee following his stellar run leading the Rangers to the World Series.

The Rangers pivoted and turned their attention to Beltre. They were able to convince him to sign in Texas rather than back in Los Angeles with the Angels. The Rangers signed him to a 5 year/$80 million dollar contract with a sixth year option worth $16 million.

He earned every penny of that contract as he became the best third baseman in Texas Rangers history. He became a team leader, a Gold Glove defender, and a multiple time all-star. He continued to rack up hits every season. He had over 150 hits every season from 2012-2017. As he continued to do that he got closer to the 3,000 hit milestone.

The team started a countdown in the summer of 2017 as he got closer. He got closer throughout the month of July. July 30th came and he was one hit away. That day also coincided with Rangers legend Pudge Rodriguez being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. The Rangers were playing that afternoon against the Baltimore Orioles when this happened.

It just so happened at that at around the same time this was happening Pudge was giving his Hall-of-Fame speech. Pudge became the second Ranger inducted into the Hall of Fame joining Nolan Ryan. Soon Adrian Beltre will become the 3rd player inducted as a Ranger.