Texas Rangers unveil statue immortalizing Hall of Famer Adrian Beltré
On a sweltering August day reminiscent of his time playing at the Ballpark in Arlington, Adrian Beltré joined Nolan Ryan, Pudge Rodriguez, Neftali Féliz and Bengie Molina as former Rangers players with statues outside Globe Life Field.
The Rangers unveiled the statue on Friday with fans, Beltré’s former teammates and other Rangers personnel, including manager Bruce Bochy, team president Chris Young and owner Ray Davis, in attendance with speeches made by Davis, Young and Beltré.
The statue shows Beltré’s signature stance with his right knee touching the ground while hitting a home run and was created by Granbury artist Mike Tabor.
Davis and Young focused on the person Beltré was off the field, citing that as part of what made him special in addition to acknowledging his prowess on the diamond.
Young said, “Greatness in baseball is primarily defined by numbers and statistics, home runs and base hits, RBIs, etc. These statistics have led Adrian to being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, but today we honor a man whose leadership on and off the field goes well beyond numbers and statistics. With this statue, we recognize a career defined by competitiveness, toughness, humility and an unparalleled joy for the game.
“When asked to describe Adrian, his teammates always speak of his leadership. He demonstrated a physical and mental toughness that set an example for everyone. He only cared about the team winning … he played with a competitive spirit that his teammates and opponents admired, and in the words of former teammate Ian Kinsler, he did it with a joy that was contagious, lifting the spirits of everyone.
“Today, this statue is a symbol, a timeless reminder of Adrian’s greatness and the impact he has made on the Texas Rangers, his teammates and our fans.”
Beltré played eight seasons for the Rangers, the most out of any team in his 21-year career, making three all-star teams while winning three Silver Slugger Awards, three Golden Gloves and helping lead the Rangers to the 2011 American League pennant.
Davis similarly praised Beltré, praising the third baseman’s leadership during his Rangers tenure. When it came time for Beltré to speak, he thanked his family, the organization and fans for an honor he said he never thought of receiving when he was playing.
“I just want to say how thankful I am to God for giving this beautiful life. I’m just a kid from the Dominican Republic that loves the game of baseball, and the game of baseball became my life. It gave me the opportunity to come to the States; somehow, I made it to the big leagues. In the middle of that, I got a chance to meet my beautiful wife, create a wonderful family that I love so much, and been so supportive through the years.
“Through baseball, I don’t know how, but I ended up getting the highest honors that you can get in baseball last year, something that was completely unexpected, and now this, and getting a statue of yourself, I never even thought in a million years that would happen. I’m so grateful, and I want to thank everybody who had to do with this idea of bringing this face and body into bronze here. So thank you so much to the front office. Everybody in the front office. Mr. Ray Davis, thank you appreciate it, John Blake, [Chris Young], everybody, everybody who had to do with it, please. Thank you.
“I don’t know if I’m worthy of this. One thing for sure, I know that I’m really grateful, and I’m glad to always be a Ranger. So thank you so much.”
