Adrian Beltre has declared his resignation. The third baseman was most recently active for the Texas Rangers and played for a total of four different teams in the MLB.
“After careful consideration and some sleepless nights, I made the decision to step back from what I’ve been doing all my life, namely playing baseball. The game I love,” said Beltre in a statement the Rangers released.
The Dominican Republic man, who turns 40 in April, has had 3166 hits in his career, earning him 16th place on the all-time list. He also overtook Ichiro Suzuki as record holder for international players in the league.
Beltre was four times All-Star, won six Gold Glove Awards and four Silver Slugger Awards. He also hit 477 home runs with 1707 RBI and brought it to a .286 average.
Beltre played for a total of four organisations in the MLB. From 1998 to 2004 he played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, for whom he had his best season ever in 2004. He beat .334 with 48 home runs and 121 RBI (163 OPS+), which earned him a lucrative contract with the Seattle Mariners.
He worked for them from 2005 to 2009 before joining the Boston Red Sox in 2010. From 2011 until 2018 he worked for the Rangers. Beltre is considered a candidate for admission to the Hall of Fame.
This article was published without prior review by Major League Baseball.