The Hall call came for a trio of MLB greats.
In results announced Tuesday night on MLB Network, Adrián Beltré, Todd Helton and Joe Mauer were elected by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America as part of the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024. They will join Contemporary Baseball Era Committee electee Jim Leyland in an induction ceremony to be held on July 21 at the Clark Sports Center in Cooperstown, N.Y.
The election of Beltré, a member of the 400 Home Run Club and one of the best defensive third basemen of all time, was seen as a foregone conclusion. But with several holdovers trending upward and Mauer also reaching eligibility and faring well in public ballot tracking, the possibility of a ballot boom loomed and was ultimately realized, after the writers’ voting process had netted a grand total of two new Cooperstown entrants in the previous three years (David Ortiz in 2022 and Scott Rolen in 2023).
Here’s a look at the players chosen by the BBWAA voters to enter the hallowed Hall.
Adrián Beltré
The 44-year-old Beltré, who becomes just the fifth player born in the Dominican Republic to reach the Hall of Fame, was widely considered the one mortal lock on this ballot, even accounting for the first-timer penalty that some voters apply in certain cases. He had earned this pat on the back … though he would famously recoil if you tried to touch his head.
Beltré mounted an unimpeachable Hall case that, unusually, revolved more around his 30s than his 20s. His powerful bat and magnificent glove were constants at a stage of his career in which many others decline, and that left him with the round numbers, the accolades and the reputation to enter the Hall easily. He is the only infielder other than Derek Jeter to notch 3,000 hits and win five Gold Gloves.
All told, in 21 seasons with the Dodgers, Mariners, Red Sox and Rangers, Beltré had 3,166 hits, 477 homers and the third-highest Baseball-Reference Wins Above Replacement (93.5) mark of any third baseman in history. He finished in the top 10 of the MVP voting six times, including a runner-up finish with the Dodgers in 2004.
It was not until Beltré’s age-31 season in 2010 – on a one-year pillow contract in Boston – that his Hall case took off. He had slumped at the end of a five-year stay in Seattle but reignited his career with a Silver Slugger season in which he led the Majors with 49 doubles. It led to a six-year free agent contract with the Rangers, for whom he became a franchise icon and a key piece of the club that went to Game 7 of the 2011 World Series. Three of his four All-Star appearances and four of his five postseason appearances came with Texas.
Todd Helton
Helton, 50, played his entire 17-year career with the Rockies — a fact held against him early in his ballot eligibility because of Coors Field’s notoriously hitter-friendly offensive environment. In his first year on the ballot in 2019, his name was checked on just 16.5% of ballots.
But over time, the voters recognized that, while Helton did put up a phenomenal .345/.441/.607 slash with 227 home runs in 4,841 plate appearances at Coors, he was no slouch on the road, either. In 4,612 road plate appearances, he slashed .287/.386/.469 with 142 home runs. The .855 away OPS is higher than that of such Hall of Famers as Dave Winfield (.841), Eddie Murray (.838) and Tony Gwynn (.835).
A five-time All-Star and four-time Silver Slugger, Helton also earned accolades for his glovework at first base, winning three Gold Glove honors. He led the Majors with a .372 average in 2000. He had consecutive seasons with 100 extra-base hits in 2000 and 2001. And he finished his career with more walks (1,335) than strikeouts (1,175).
Helton, who played his entire career with Colorado, will join Larry Walker, who was elected into the Hall in 2020 and inducted in 2021, as the only Rockies represented in Cooperstown’s hallowed plaque gallery. Together, they have overcome the curse of Coors in this voting system.
Joe Mauer
Though his case was more complicated than that of fellow first-timer Beltré, the 40-year-old Mauer nevertheless achieved entry into the Hall as arguably the best catcher of his generation.
The St. Paul, Minn., kid made good on his 2001 selection as the No. 1 overall Draft pick by his hometown Twins to become a six-time All-Star, five-time Silver Slugger, three-time batting champ and the 2009 AL MVP. He was a member of four division-winning Twins teams.
Though his catching career was cut short by concussions and five seasons as essentially a league-average first baseman complicated his Cooperstown case, Mauer made enough of an impact at his primary position to stand among the greatest to ever don the tools of ignorance. His .306 career batting average is tied for the sixth highest among catchers with at least 3,000 plate appearances, and his .388 on-base percentage is tied for third. He’s the only catcher with three batting titles, and his total of 44.6 bWAR during his 10 years as the Twins’ primary catcher from 2004-13 was by far the best at that position in that timeframe.
In his MVP year, Mauer led the AL in average (.365), OBP (.444) and slugging percentage (.587) while hitting a career-best 28 homers. He finished his career with 2,123 hits, 143 homers, 428 doubles and 923 RBIs.
