'Let's meet at the Beltré statue': Rangers honor HOFer in bronze

ARLINGTON -- The past few years have been a whirlwind for Adrian Beltré.

Since his retirement, Beltré has had his No. 29 retired in the rafters at Globe Life Field. He’s been inducted into both the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame and the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

And on Friday, the Rangers unveiled a statue of Beltré outside Globe Field Field, right across the street from where he spent his eight seasons at the Ballpark in Arlington.

The life-sized bronze statue will permanently be located in the Comerica Bank Northeast Entrance Plaza of the new ballpark.

“It's difficult, because I'm a lowkey guy,” Beltré said. “I know I played the game for quite a bit of time, and I was decent at it. Now I'm getting some rewards because of it. It's difficult to comprehend everything that has happened over the last couple of years to me.”

Beltré -- a 2024 National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee -- joins fellow Hall of Famers Nolan Ryan (1999) and Ivan Rodriguez (2017), as well as former Arlington mayor Tom Vandergriff, with statues adorning the perimeter of Globe Life Field.

There is also a statue commemorating the final out of the 2010 American League Championship Series, depicting pitcher Neftalí Feliz and catcher Bengie Molina embracing after the final out of Game 6 of the ALCS on Oct. 22, 2010, at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

Beltré’s statue was created by Granbury, Texas, artist Mike Tabor.

“I’ve been trying to search for the right feeling, just what I feel having a statue that will be sitting here for however many years,” Beltré said. “I’m trying to cope with the fact that that is me, that I'm worthy of it. It is just mind-boggling, because this is something that I never even thought about.

“I'm really grateful, I'm really happy and honored that the Rangers are taking the time to honor me. I'm forever going to be grateful for the Rangers. This is something that I can't explain.”

Beltré was a good player before he got to Texas. After all, he had a pair of Gold Gloves, a Silver Slugger Award and was coming off a monster year in Boston in which he slashed .321/.365/.553.

But in his eight years in Arlington, Beltré became a franchise legend, hitting .304 with an .865 OPS. He accumulated 1,277 of his 3,166 hits with the Rangers. He had six top-15 AL MVP finishes, and he was the undisputed leader of the clubhouse during some of the best years in franchise history.

Beltré finished his career with five Gold Glove Awards, two Platinum Glove Awards, four All-Star Game selections, four Silver Slugger Awards and 477 home runs.

His 93.5 bWAR ranks third among third basemen in baseball history behind Mike Schmidt (106.9) and Eddie Mathews (95.9).

“From this day forward, every time we walk by this statue, we'll think about the great moments and the joy Adrian Beltré brought to the game he loved,” Rangers executive vice president of ballpark entertainment, promotions and production Chuck Morgan said. “Moms and dads who saw him play will stop here with their kids and share stories about the third baseman who played the game with so much heart.

“It will become a Rangers tradition for families, friends and all baseball fans to make this the place to meet on their way inside to see a Rangers ballgame. For years to come, these words will be spoken again and again -- ‘Let's meet at the Beltré statue.’”