TRIPLE PLAY: Baseball Hall of Fame selection ‘unbelievable honor’ for Adrián Beltré, Todd Helton and Joe Mauer

It’s that time of year when baseball teams try to make a big splash by adding some high-profile talent to their lineups, and the National Baseball Hall of Fame is no exception, with a trio of heavy hitters — Adrián Beltré, Todd Helton, and Joe Mauer —joining the storied Cooperstown team.

Beltré, Helton, and Mauer were elected to the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) on Jan. 23. Both Beltré and Mauer were on the BBWAA ballot for the first time. It was Helton’s sixth year of eligibility.

Combined, the trio won 13 Silver Slugger Awards, and their fielding wasn’t too shabby either. All together, they have 11 Gold Gloves.

While Beltré played with four different teams in his 21-year career (1998–2018), both Helton and Mauer stayed with the same clubs for their entire careers. Helton played 17 years for the Colorado Rockies (1997–2013) and was known as “Mr. Rockie.” When he retired in 2013, Helton, a first baseman, held practically every Rockies’ offensive record.

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For 15 seasons (2004–2018), Mauer was the face of the Minnesota Twins, the only major league team whose uniform he ever wore. Playing for the Twins was personal for Mauer, a catcher and first baseman, because he grew up in St. Paul, Minn., and was a big fan of his hometown team.

When the 2024 ballot was released in November, many baseball experts were sure Beltré would get elected this year, but it was uncertain whether Mauer and Helton would make it. But the duo prevailed, exceeding the 75 percent vote threshold needed for election (Helton 79.7 percent, Mauer 76.1). Beltré garnered 95.1 percent of the votes cast.

All three newly elected players — along with legendary baseball manager Jim Leyland — will be inducted on July 21. Leyland was elected by the Hall of Fame’s Contemporary Era Committee in December.

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A native of the Dominican Republic, Beltré was taught how to play baseball by his father, Bienvenido.

“I was going to be a major league baseball player — I knew that as a child,” the new Hall of Famer said.

Beltré was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1994 when he was only 15 years old, and worked his way through the team’s minor league system. He was with the big club by June 1998. In his first at-bat, the nervous youngster smacked a double down the left-field line.

But Beltré turned out to be a late bloomer. While he displayed flashes of greatness in seven seasons with the Dodgers (1998–2004), it was not until years later, with the Texas Rangers, that he really showed all he could do on the baseball diamond.

However, in 2004 with the Dodgers, he hit a National League–leading 48 home runs and batted .334 with 200 hits, 121 RBI, and a .629 slugging percentage. That was impressive enough for him to come close to winning the NL MVP Award, coming in second to San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds. The right-handed batter did take home his first Silver Slugger Award that year and became a highly sought-after free agent following the 2004 season. Beltré admitted that while he was with the Dodgers, he tried to “do too much” and was too eager to prove that he belonged in the majors. He now believes that hindered his game.

He signed with the Seattle Mariners in 2005 and stayed with that club until 2009. Though he had some standout moments with the Mariners, including two Gold Gloves (2007 and 2008), he still didn’t reach his potential or match his 2004 offensive numbers.

But Seattle did play an important role in Beltré’s baseball life. While with the team, he made some close friendships and “rediscovered his love for the game.” At that point in his career, the lifetime .286 hitter started having fun playing the game as a professional.

After the 2009 season, the slick-fielding third baseman became a free agent again and signed a one-year contract with the Boston Red Sox for the 2010 season. Beltré was determined to show fans what he could do with a high-profile team. He did. The Dominican native hit .321 with the Bosox with 28 homers, 102 RBI, and an American League–leading 49 doubles. He won his second Silver Slugger Award and became an All-Star for the first time. Baseball fans learned from Beltré that it’s never too late to become great.

After the 2010 season, Beltré, once again a free agent, signed with the Texas Rangers and became a Hall of Famer. The team’s star for the next eight seasons (2011–2018), he batted .305 during that period, compared to .275 in his 13 seasons before moving to Texas. When he got to the Rangers at age 32, Beltré was playing like a kid — loose and having fun. He endeared himself to fans, became a hero in the Lone Star state, and got the numbers and recognition he needed to become one of the game’s immortals.

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Though his fielding was always top-notch, Beltré’s offense took off with the Rangers. He added 1,277 hits with the Rangers, finishing his career with 3,166. He also had 477 career home runs and a lifetime total of 1,707 RBI.

Beltré, now 44, smiled as he talked about his time with the Rangers: 

“Once I got there, I just felt comfortable with the fan base. Everything about Texas, about Dallas and Arlington, it just clicked for me,” he said. “Having a good group of guys competing, it was easier for me to come out and perform and just be happy doing what I did.”

At 5:17 ET on Jan. 23, Todd Helton’s phone rang. For a superstitious guy, that means a lot when you consider that he played 17 years with the Colorado Rockies, wearing number 17.

Sure enough, it was the Baseball Hall of Fame calling. 

The Rockies’ legend missed by just 11 votes last year, and nobody knew for sure if he would make it this year.

For fans of the Rockies, there was never any doubt that their franchise player should be in Cooperstown. Helton, 50, said that being inducted and having his number retired by the team are the greatest honors “you can get.” The Rockies retired Helton’s number 17 in 2014.

“But you play to win. Any day you can do something to help your team win is a good day,” he said. “Nobody plays to be in the Hall of Fame. You go out there, play as hard as you can, and don’t give away at-bats. I enjoyed winning.”

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In 2000, Helton won the NL batting title, hitting .372, and at one point during that season, fans thought he could reach the magical .400 plateau.

“But hey, .372 is still pretty good,” he said with a smile, looking back on that fabled season.

A five-time All-Star (2000–2004) and a four-time Silver Slugger Award winner (2000–2003), Helton collected 2,519 hits. The first baseman had a lifetime .316 average, but some baseball purists challenged that because Helton played his home games in hitter-friendly Coors Field in Denver. Yet Helton also excelled on the road, compiling a .287 lifetime average on the road.

The left-handed batter said he enjoyed spending his whole career with the team he helped build.

“I put my heart and soul into that team,” he said.

In 2007 the Rockies went to the World Series against the Red Sox. Colorado lost in four straight games.

“I’d rather lose the World Series with Colorado than win it someplace else,” Helton said.

Even though Mauer had a sensational major league career, he still finds it hard to believe that he actually played for his hometown Minnesota Twins, the team he grew up worshipping.

“I still have to pinch myself,” Mauer said about his 15-year career with the Twins, where he collected 2,123 hits and won three batting titles.

Mauer’s idols as a boy were Twins’ superstars Kirby Puckett and Kent Hrbek. The new Hall of Famer and St. Paul native is only the third catcher elected to Cooperstown in his first year of eligibility. Johnny Bench and Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez managed the feat before Mauer.

What makes Mauer’s career so notable is the stunning offensive numbers he put up, even though he played such a physically demanding position. The backstop batted from the left side of the plate but threw right-handed.

He became the first American League catcher to win a batting title when he hit .347 in 2006. He then went on to win two more batting titles in 2008 and 2009.

In 2008, the catching phenom batted .328 and followed that up with a .365 average in 2009, the year he was also named AL MVP. No other catcher in Major League Baseball has ever won three batting titles.

Now at 40 years old, Mauer can look back on five Silver Slugger Awards (2006, 2008–2010, 2013). He also has three Gold Gloves (2008–2010).

For Mauer, being a catcher was his dream job.

“I think it was because you have a big say in how the game is going to be played,” he said. “You have an impact on every pitch. I loved having the ball in my hands.”

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After spending 10 years behind the dish, Mauer moved to first base in 2014. He had suffered a concussion in 2013 when he took two hard foul balls off his mask in a game against the New York Mets. After feeling dizzy the next day in batting practice, he went on the disabled list.

Though Mauer tried to come back in early September, he still had symptoms. Doctors feared that worse damage could be done if he got hit in the head again. The injury caused him to miss the rest of the 2013 season. He never played another game behind the plate.

“I wanted to continue catching but it wasn’t in the cards. It wasn’t safe,” he said.

His hitting fell off somewhat after Mauer returned to the lineup in 2014 as a first baseman, but it was revealed later in his career that he had been dealing with blurred vision for several seasons after he had the concussion.

“I’m not making excuses,” he noted. “But there were times I couldn’t pick up the ball. It was blurry at times.”

Still, in 2017, he batted .305, and in 2018, his final season, he racked up a .282 batting average.

Mauer said he feels fortunate that he was able to continue his career as a first baseman but added, “Who I am as a baseball player is a catcher.”

A six-time All-Star (2006, 2008–2010, 2012–2013), Mauer’s number 7 was retired by the Twins in 2019.

“I don’t think it has fully sunk in, to be honest,” Mauer said of getting into Cooperstown. “I mean there are so many great players, great catchers in the Hall of Fame. Just thinking of some off the top of my head — Yogi Berra, Roy Campanella — it’s not lost on me. This is an unbelievable honor.”

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