Giraffe at Fort Worth Zoo named after Beltre

Just about everybody joined in Adrian Beltre’s celebration Sunday — from Gov. Greg Abbott to Jason Garrett to Dirk Nowitzki to you and me to ... the Fort Worth Zoo.

“As one of the largest giraffe calves born in Fort Worth Zoo history, Beltre (the calf) was up and moving within minutes,” the zoo said in a news release. “The Zoo wanted to give this calf a name that embodied his strength and liveliness that was apparent from day one.”

In case you were in a cave somewhere and missed the hoopla, Texas Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre got his 3,000th hit in the fourth inning against the Orioles on Sunday, becoming the 31st player in the history of baseball to reach that milestone.

Beltre the reticulated giraffe was born June 8 weighing 185 pounds and standing 6 feet tall. His half-brother Buddy came eight days later, bringing the zoo’s giraffe herd to nine.

He’ll eventually stand 18 feet tall, the zoo notes, so won’t have to worry about anyone touching his head.

“On behalf of these gentle giants, the Fort Worth Zoo congratulates baseball giant Adrian Beltre on making history today!” the zoo announced in a Facebook post Sunday afternoon.

The zoo’s decision to name a giraffe after him was universally applauded:

This story was originally published July 31, 2017 at 11:00 AM with the headline "Giraffe at Fort Worth Zoo named after Beltre."