Tapp-ing into the Numbers: 10 stats you may not know about Adrian Beltre

By JERRY TAPP

Adrian Beltre became the 31st player to join the 3,000-hit club yesterday. Here’s a look at 10 stats you may not know about Beltre’s career.

  1. Beltre connected for an RBI-double on the first pitch he saw in the majors, June 24, 1998, as a member of the L.A. Dodgers. He got his first hit off Chuck Finley of the Angels.
  2. He has 1,111 career hits with the Rangers, 949 with the Dodgers, 751 with Seattle, and 189 with the Red Sox.
  3. Although he has 3,000 career hits, Beltre has only one season with 200 hits. That happened in 2004 when he had exactly 200 hits that season.
  4. Beltre has finished in the top 10 in league MVP balloting six times. His best finish was second when he played for the Dodgers in ’04.
  5. Beltre has won five Gold Gloves and four Silver Slugger awards.
  6. He has at least one stolen base in each of his 20 seasons in the majors. He is only one of 24 players in MLB history to have a stolen base in 20 or more seasons.
  7. Beltre hit a pair of home runs in the World Series for the Rangers in 2011.
  8. Beltre has hit 454 home runs. He has hit 227 HRs at home and 227 on the road.
  9. Prior to the All-Star break, Beltre’s career batting average is .278. In games after the All-Star Game, Beltre has a career batting average of .295. In games his team has won. Beltre is hitting .319; in games his teams have lost, his career batting average is .249.
  10. He has a career batting average of .350 or above against three teams: the Marlins (.376), the Pirates (.362) and the Nationals (.350). His favorite park appears to be Coors Field in Colorado… he is 102-for-255, a .400 career batting average there.