The Rangers announced that the club will retire Adrian Beltre's number on June 8 during the 2019 season.
"The Rangers are proud and honored to make this announcement tonight," team co-chairman Ray Davis said. "This franchise and its fans have the privilege of witnessing the last eight years of Adrian Beltre's Hall of Fame career on a daily basis. With 2019 being our final year at Globe Life Park in Arlington, we felt it was appropriate to retire Adrian's number in the park where he excelled for so long."
Beltre's number 29 will never be worn by another Rangers player. He joins Ivan Rodriguez (7), Johnny Oates (26) and Nolan Ryan (34) as the only Rangers players with their number retired. Jackie Robinson's 42 is retired MLB-wide.
Beltre ranks third in career WAR for the Rangers behind Rodriguez and Rafael Palmeiro. In his eight years with the Rangers, Beltre hit .304/.357/.509 (128 OPS+) with 1,277 hits, 239 doubles, 199 home runs, 699 RBI and 612 runs. He made three All-Star teams, won three Gold Gloves and two Silver Sluggers there. The Rangers have only made the playoffs eight times in history and four of those came with Beltre, including when they won the 2011 AL pennant.
Beltre will be headed to the Hall of Fame -- hopefully in his first try in five years -- and when he does, it's a good bet he'll have a Rangers cap on his bust. He spent seven seasons with the Dodgers, five with the Mariners and one with the Red Sox, but he'll best be remembered for his time in Texas.
