Competitive breeds greatness. It also makes it hard to select just one player to be considered the best at one position.
That’s the task The Athletic’s Jayson Stark (subscription required) recently undertook. The long-time baseball writer put together an all-quarter century team. The goal — the best player at each position from 2000-25.
Third base was a difficult one for him, he admitted. In fact, his first choice was Atlanta’s Chipper Jones. Other Hall of Famers were involved too, including Scott Rolen. There are even current players like Manny Machado, Nolan Arenado and José Ramírez who aren’t done with their careers. Alex Rodriguez was even in the mix.
But, in the end, Stark selected the Texas Rangers’ newly-minted Baseball Hall of Fame third baseman Adrián Beltré.
Stark admits it was a tough internal debate. He eliminated A-Rod due to PED scandals. The choice was Beltré, Jones and Rolen, he wrote.
“So in the end, how could this not be Beltré, who fell just short of 3,000 hits and 500 homers on this side of the Y2K line, while redefining what elite third-base leatherwork looked like?” he wrote.
Rangers fans would find it hard to argue with that assessment. Beltré played for other teams, but he wears a Rangers cap on his hat on his plaque in Cooperstown and one could argue he made his biggest impact in Arlington.
He played 21 seasons, made his debut at 19 years old with the Los Angeles Dodgers and played his final eight seasons with the Rangers before he retired in 2018. He joined Texas in 2011, with the franchise coming off its first World Series appearance and he helped them push for another in his first season.
He made three of his four All-Star Game appearances with Texas. He won three of his five Gold Gloves with Texas. He won two of his four Silver Sluggers with Texas. He finished in the Top 25 in MVP voting six times with Texas.
By the end of his eight seasons, he slashed .304/.357/.509 with 199 home runs and 699 RBI.
And, as Passan noted, he did most of his damage in the 21st century. He only played 239 of his 2,933 career games in the 1990s.
Beltré’s No. 19 is retired by the Rangers, and he was inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame shortly after his retirement. He is a member of the 3,000-hit club, as he finished his career with 3,166 hits. He is No. 18 all-time and one of 33 players with 3,000 hits.
So, yes, he’s most assuredly all-quarter century team material.
