Adrian Beltre, Joe Mauer and Todd Helton became the newest members of the Baseball Hall of Fame Tuesday night, when results of the balloting conducted by voting members of the Baseball Writers Association of America were announced by president Josh Rawitch at the plaque gallery inside the museum in Cooperstown, N.Y.
Beltre, Mauer and Helton will be inducted along with former manager Jim Leyland — who was elected via the 16-member Contemporary Baseball Era Committee on Dec. 3 — in a ceremony scheduled for July 21 in Cooperstown.
Beltre received 95.1 percent of the vote in his first year on the ballot, and fellow first-ballot inductee Mauer, who played his entire career for his hometown Minnesota Twins, garnered 76.1 percent. His 293 votes were four more than the minimum needed to reach the 75 percent necessary for enshrinement.
Helton, a slugging first baseman who spent his 17-season career with the Colorado Rockies, received 79.7 percent of the vote in his sixth season of eligibility.
Beltre — the only third baseman with 400 homers and 3,000 hits — was viewed as a lock for the Class of 2024 from the moment he retired following the 2018 season. The waiting was far more anxious for Helton and Mauer, who are the first duo to reach the Hall of Fame with less than 80 percent of the vote since Carlton Fisk and Tony Perez in 2000.
“Definitely thrilled to get that call,” Mauer said on MLB Network. “A lot of emotions. Been a whirlwind, that’s for sure.”
“I really didn’t think the phone was going to ring, and when it rang — I was still in shock when it said ‘Hall of Fame’ on it,” Helton said on MLB Network.
Despite his status as a sure thing, Beltre acknowledged he was nervous as well in the hours leading up to the phone call informing him of the news.
“I always wanted to be a decent baseball player, a good baseball player, but I never thought about being a Hall of Famer,” Beltre said on MLB Network. “When you see ‘Cooperstown’ on the phone call, it kind of settled in: ‘OK, man, I think you’re going to make the Hall of Fame.'”
Beltre, who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox and Texas Rangers from 1998-2018, became the 19th third baseman in the Hall of Fame. Only George Brett and Chipper Jones received a larger share of the vote among inductees at the hot corner.
Beltre is sure to wear a Rangers hat on his plaque after he concluded his career with an impressive eight-year stint in Arlington, Texas, that solidified his first-ballot status. While with the Rangers, he made three All-Star teams, won three Gold Gloves and finished in the top 10 in the American League MVP balloting four times while hitting .304 with 199 homers and 1,277 hits.
“Once I got there, I just felt comfortable,” Beltre said. “A good group of guys competing. It was easier for me to come out and perform and just be happy doing what I did. There’s no doubt that the Rangers have a lot to do with my career and I appreciate the fact that they trusted me, bringing me to Arlington.”
Mauer, who is now the youngest Hall of Famer at 40 years old, built his Hall of Fame case while spending his first 10 seasons behind the plate before he moved to first base following a series of concussions. The native of nearby St. Paul won three batting titles and three Gold Gloves as well as the AL MVP in 2009, when he set career highs with a .365 average, 28 homers and 96 RBIs.
He is the third catcher elected on the first ballot, joining Johnny Bench and Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez.
“Two of my favorites,” Mauer said. “Admire those guys and look up to those guys and kept competing (with) Pudge for years in Detroit.”
Another one-team icon, Helton will become the second Colorado Rockies player in the Hall of Fame, joining former teammate Larry Walker in Cooperstown. Helton batted above .300 in his first 10 full MLB seasons and finished his career with a .316 average along with 369 homers. He led the NL with a .372 average and 147 RBIs in 2000.
Like Walker, Helton’s candidacy built slowly as he dealt with the perception his numbers were aided by playing in the thin air of Denver. But Helton’s career road OPS of .855 is higher than the overall OPS of all but 83 Hall of Famers.
“You don’t get to pick where you play and you always want to hit better at your home park,” Helton said during a conference call. “I’m not embarrassed or anything about my home and road numbers. Going on the road after hitting in Colorado is hard and the ball breaks more. And it’s a huge adjustment going through the season.”
Billy Wagner just missed with 73.8 percent of the vote in his penultimate season of eligibility. Wagner, whose 422 saves rank sixth all-time, made seven All-Star teams and averaged 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings, the highest figure ever among pitchers to throw at least 900 innings.
Gary Sheffield, in his 10th and final year on the ballot, finished at 63.9 percent. A slugger known for his bat waggle and ferocious yet controlled swing, Sheffield hit 509 homers and finished in the top 10 of the MVP balloting six times for five different teams. He will likely appear on the Contemporary Baseball Era ballot in December 2025.
Andruw Jones, a defensive whiz as well as a potent batter, received 61.6 percent on his seventh year on the ballot.
Carlos Beltran, in his second year on the ballot, received 57.1 percent of the vote — up from 46.5 percent last year, when many believed he was being punished for his role in the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal. Chase Utley (28.8 percent) led the remaining debut candidates.
–By Jerry Beach, Field Level Media
