On January 24, Todd Helton and Joe Mauer were inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the most prestigious hall of fame in the nation. Mauer and Helton were joined by Adrian Beltre, but Beltre can’t claim something that both Helton and Mauer can.
Beltre is widely considered one of the greatest third basemen in the history of the game. He was deservedly voted into Cooperstown his first year on the ballot. He played 21 seasons in the big leagues, collecting 3,166 hits. Beltre hit 477 homers and ended his career with a batting average of .286. He collected those impressive numbers while playing for four teams (Dodgers, Mariners, Red Sox and Rangers). This is where Beltre separates from Helton and Mauer.
Like Beltre, Mauer is a first ballot hall of famer. He played 15 years in the MLB, was drafted by the Minnesota Twins as the first overall pick in 2001 and made his debut on April 5, 2004, collecting two hits in his first game. He finished his career with 2,123 hits. He came to the league as a catcher, and as father time caught up with Joe, he moved over to first base and DH. However, in his last home game, he played catcher for the final time.
Beltre has way more impressive stats over more time in the big leagues, so what makes Joe Mauer more special than Adrian Beltre? The answer is simple. When Joe Mauer played catcher for the final time, he was still wearing a Minnesota Twins Jersey. Mauer played all his games in the same city for the same team.
Todd Helton was the same way. Helton was drafted by the Rockies as the number 8 overall pick in 1995 and 2,519 hits later, he retired as the Colorado Rockies’ first baseman. Helton over his career hit .316 with 369 homers. Helton deserves to be in the hall.
This class of Hall of Famers is a special one because not one of the three won a World Series. Only one of them played in the fall classic. That means that these players are special all on their own.
Beltre is special because of his stats, yes, but his on-field antics and kid-like behavior toward the game was endearing to fans everywhere. I believe that there is not one person involved in baseball, whether a player, manager, coach or just a casual fan, who would claim that they dislike Beltre.
However, he is not the most special.
Baseball is a game of pride, joy, perseverance and honor. The most impressive and honorable thing about baseball is that it is also a game of loyalty.
Loyalty is a rare word used toward the game of baseball these days. Free agency has made it to where if a guy played for more than five years with a team, then he is loyal. Loyalty is a dying virtue in sports. That is why Mauer and Helton should be examples for young athletes -Mauer and Helton were loyal.
Their teams never allowed them a chance to play in the World Series. Their teams are not big market teams with all kinds of publicity. Rather, their teams, the Twins and Rockies, are expansion teams, and Helton and Mauer played all of their combined 4,105 games for just the Twins and Rockies.
So here’s to you, Todd Helton and Joe Mauer: you guys represented what baseball is all about. You showed us that baseball is not about rings, and it’s not about winning and losing. It’s about honor and loyalty. I personally can’t think of two more deserving players to have a plaque in Cooperstown.
by Ollie Hammonds
