Adrian Beltré inducted into Hall of Fame

A Texas Rangers great — and arguably one of the best third basemen of all time — is now in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Why it matters: Adrian Beltré's performance went beyond his 477 home runs and 3,166 hits in his 21-season career. He was simply fun to watch.

• Rangers fans loved him for hitting home runs from one knee, for getting into playful on-field fights with teammate Elvis Andrus, and for antagonizing umpires by dragging the on-deck circle.

The big picture: Beltré is the third Rangers player to enter the Hall of Fame wearing a Texas hat. He joins good company in Nolan Ryan and Iván "Pudge" Rodríguez.

• He's the fifth Dominican player to be inducted into the Hall.

Driving the news: Colorado Rockies first baseman Todd Helton, Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer and Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland were also inducted Sunday in Cooperstown, NY.

The latest: Beltré loves baseball, a point he emphasized during his speech yesterday. He described first joining a team in the Dominican Republic when he was 13, saying, "I was hooked."

• Much like how he played, he was funny and serious on stage, going from joking about former teammates, like Andrus, who he called a "pain in my butt," to thanking his family, particularly his wife who he called "the real Hall of Famer."

Catch up fast: Beltré made his major league debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers when he was just 19. He played there for seven seasons before joining the Seattle Mariners, where he struggled.

• He had a brief stint with the Boston Red Sox before moving to Texas after the Rangers lost the 2010 World Series to the San Francisco Giants.
• Beltré was crucial in the 2011 World Series run and had some of the best years of his career until he retired in 2018.

Fun fact: Beltré hates when people touch his head. Former Boston Red Sox teammate and fellow Dominican David Ortiz swiped his hand over Beltré's head as the Ranger walked up to the podium to make his speech yesterday.

• "It was a little cute to go back to my days when I was playing," Beltré said of the gesture after the ceremony.