Adrián Beltré
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|---|---|
| Seattle Mariners — No. 29 | |
| Third base | |
| Bats: Right | Throws: Right |
| Major League Baseball debut | |
| June 24, 1998 for the Los Angeles Dodgers | |
| Selected MLB statistics (through September 30, 2006) |
|
| Hits | 1269 |
| Batting average | .271 |
| Home runs | 191 |
| RBIs | 686 |
| Former teams | |
Adrián Beltré Pérez (IPA: /ˌɑ.dɾi.ˈɑn.bεl.ˈtʃɾe/) (born April 7, 1979 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) is a Major League Baseball third baseman who plays for the Seattle Mariners. Previously, he played for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1998-2004). He bats and throws right-handed.
In a nine-year career, Beltré is a .271 hitter with 191 home runs and 686 RBI in 1278 games.
Beltré debuted with the Dodgers in the 1998 season at age 19. At 5 ft 11 in 220 lb, he is a disciplined hitter who uses the entire field and can hit for power. An above-average runner, he runs the bases intelligently and will get every extra base that he can.
At third base, Beltré has a strong and secure arm, is a master at handling slow rollers, and has terrific range to his left.
Beltré enjoyed his best season in 2004, with career highs in batting average (.334), RBI (121), runs (104), hits (200), doubles (32), on base percentage (.388), slugging average (.629), OPS (1,017), total bases (376), and 48 home runs, also a league lead. He won the Silver Slugger Award, and finished second in the National League MVP voting, just behind Barry Bonds.
Beltré was signed by the Mariners as a free agent before the 2005 season to a five-year $64 m deal; however, he has not brought the offensive presence to the Mariners lineup they had expected. Regressing to his pre-2004 form, he batted just .255 with 19 home runs and 87 RBI, causing many who were skeptical of this acquisition to call the Mariners signing of Beltré a "bust".
Manager Mike Hargrove has not given up hope in him, saying, "I think it's a season that, personally, he's disappointed in. I think it was a year that he will [improve on] the longer he's here and the longer he's in the American League."
2006 has been a major disappointment for Beltré; it has been suspected by many that he used steroids in his contract year of 2004. Beltré, in an interview for the Seattle Times, denied his dropoff in 2006 to have anything to do with steroids. Many fans believe that he's starting to get used to the American League after a 10-for-26 homestand; by June 5, 2006, Beltré's batting average was slowly improving, from .109 in April 16 to .236 at that time. After hitting his first home run in April, and his second later that month, Beltré has caught fire, improving his hitting, getting more hits in ballgames, most notably doubles. Most importantly, he hit two home runs in the first five days of June, good signs for Beltré as well as the Mariners.
At the end of the 2006 baseball season, Beltre homered twice on the last day to end up with a batting average of .268, 25 homeruns and 89 RBI's. Despite his low batting average, he improved upon his 2005 dismal season. His lack of RBI's are a concern, however. Much improvement is expected for the 2007 season from Mariner fans.
On Sunday, July 23, against the Boston Red Sox, Beltre hit a inside-the-park home run, the first one ever in Safeco Field history.
[edit] See also
- Top 500 home run hitters of all time
- List of players from Dominican Republic in Major League Baseball
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Barry Bonds |
National League Player of the Month September, 2004 |
Succeeded by Derrek Lee |
| Preceded by Jim Thome |
National League Home Run Champion 2004 |
Succeeded by Andruw Jones |
