Adrian Beltre was a late arrival in Texas, signing with the Rangers as a free agent at the age of 31. In his six seasons, he has made his presence felt, enjoying the best stretch of his career. Beltre has hit .308 with 167 home runs and 563 RBIs.
Beltre, however, has yet to win a World Series championship, and that, he admits, is something missing from his career. He talked about his situation in this week's Q&A:
MLB.com: As you get close to the end of your career, turning 38 the first week of the season, what drives you every day to maintain that high level of play?
Beltre: What keeps me going is I have had a decent career. I have accomplished a couple things. I have made good money, but I want to be a champion. We have been really close, but we haven't come out on top. My window is closing. I'm pretty sure if we win this year, it is going to make it easier for me to decide to go home and enjoy my kids. But for now, it is difficult for me to go home, because I haven't gotten the win that I want.
MLB.com: There's also the lure of 3,000 hits. You go into the season with 2,942 hits, and you could reach 3,000 sometime in the first half of the season, health permitting. Only two players who played predominately as third basemen have ever reached 3,000 -- George Brett and Wade Boggs -- and they are both in the Hall of Fame. Is that a motivation?
Beltre: Obviously I'm aware of the situation, but I'm not thinking like, "That's going to put me in the Hall of Fame" or any kind of stuff like that. I don't want to think about that. Obviously it's something that is a big accomplishment and I'm very proud of what I have done, but I don't want to get caught up on the Hall of Fame and what that means and how [or] what I should have done.
MLB.com: In your native Dominican Republic, it would seem it would be a major event.
Beltre: I think so. Baseball is the No. 1 sport in the Dominican. Dominican people talk about it when they eat breakfast, lunch and dinner. The people in the Dominican are really supportive of their players.
MLB.com: If 3,000 hits is the key to the Hall of Fame, it would seem that would be significant in light of Juan Marichal and Pedro Martinez being the only Dominicans enshrined in Cooperstown.
Beltre: They are the only two now, but Vladi [Guerrero] is probably going to get in next year. Big Papi is going to be in soon. We have a lot of players who are beloved in our country. For me to be one of those guys, who hopefully they can look up to and be proud of what I've done in my career, it would be an honor.
MLB.com: You have always been a good player, but does it seem odd that your career really took off at the age of 31, when you went from Seattle to Boston?
Beltre: I went through a little rough time in Seattle. I did not play to the potential that I wanted to play to. But once I got to Boston, I felt comfortable with that club and in that lineup. Since I have been with the Rangers, I find that I don't have to try that much. I put in the work and do everything I need to do to get ready for the game, and then let my ability take off. Obviously experience helps a lot. I study the game. I'm trying to make sure I am prepared for the game. When you are on a team with good players and you can help a contending team, that can get a little bit more out of you. I think that may be the case in Texas.
MLB.com: From talking with Nolan Ryan, when you were a free agent, he said it was critical to sign you because you were the key to the team having success.
Beltre: I'm honored that he was one of the guys who pushed for me to be here. I'm glad he did, because I think I'm in the right place. It's been such a nice six years. Great teammates. We have accomplished good things, but not enough. We have had a good team, a team capable of winning the World Series. We haven't done that yet. But I like our chances and I like where I am. Hopefully this is the year.
MLB.com: You have emerged as a player considered to be one of those rare legitimate team leaders.
Beltre: It's not a conscious effort. You play for a while and you want to be sure that your team is doing the right thing [and] your teammates are following what needs to be done to be prepared for the game. On this ballclub, it has been easy because it's not only me. We have a lot of veteran guys who step up, and we keep this clubhouse fun. We keep it open in the sense of, like, nobody here is better than anybody. We just make sure that everybody follows rules and is ready to play every day, and we make sure that everybody understands that the main goal here is to win the World Series and not just to show up and play a game.
MLB.com: The World Series is really a driving force, isn't it?
Beltre: That's what drives me every day. I want to win the World Series. I want to go home knowing that I have done it. I want to make sure that these guys understand that, because it's not easy to get there. It's not easy to get there, but not only do you get there, you have to win it too.
MLB.com: Getting to the World Series in 2011 and then losing in seven games to the Cardinals isn't easily forgotten?
Beltre: It's a sour situation. I want to make sure these guys understand that it's not easy to get there, and that it's going to take a lot, because it's a competition. My window is closing every day.
Tracy Ringolsby