Beltré, Helton, Mauer and Leyland inducted into Baseball Hall of Fame

Beltré reached the major leagues shortly after his 19th birthday and was quickly regarded as one of the top prospects in the sports world as a teenager.

In Beltré’s induction speech, he said he played for his first team at age 13 and that he had become a second baseman because his father had told him that was the position he should play.

When a teammate asked him to switch to third base, Beltré agreed and the decision paid off.

Beltré played 21 years for the Dodgers, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox and Texas Rangers. He won the Gold Glove five times and is the first third baseman with at least 450 home runs and 3,000 hits.

During his tenure, Beltré made it clear that he didn’t like anyone touching his head, so his teammates ignored the request and touched his head anyway. During Sunday’s ceremony, fellow Hall of Famer David Ortiz continued the tradition by touching Beltré’s head before his speech.

“That never relaxes me,” Beltré said, laughing. “(But) it was kind of cute to go back to my playing days. … It’s just part of being part of this brotherhood. Even though I don’t love it, I don’t like it, but it felt like I was open to people who could play with me. I always like that.”

Mauer was a high school phenom in both football and baseball in St. Paul, Minnesota. He was named USA Today’s High School Player of the Year in football in 2000 and baseball in 2001.

He was selected first overall in the 2001 MLB Draft by his hometown Twins.

“It was really an honor to be (Minnesota Twin) and represent my hometown team,” Mauer said.

The future six-time All-Star catcher played only three years in the minor leagues before spending his entire 15-year major league career with the Twins.

Mauer won the Most Valuable Player award and three batting titles and is the only catcher in history with at least 2,000 hits, a .300 batting average and a .380 hitting percentage.

Mauer noted how touched he was to see so many Minnesota fans all weekend.

“It’s not easy to come to Cooperstown, especially with what’s happened this past week,” he said. “But to see so many Twins fans there, I felt the love and I just hoped I could give the speech that I wrote down.”

Helton was also a star in football and baseball, playing both sports at the University of Tennessee.

Despite his dominance in both sports at a young age, Helton never felt comfortable in the spotlight or as a Hall of Famer.

“Anyone who knows me knows I would be more comfortable doing anything other than standing here and talking about myself,” Helton said as he opened his speech. “I’m just a baseball player and anyone in the media can attest to that.”

Helton could have risen to fame as the quarterback at Tennessee between future first-round NFL draft picks Heath Shuler and Peyton Manning, but he was destined for greater things on the baseball field.

After Manning’s knee injury paved the way for Tennessee’s quarterback in 1994, Helton turned his attention to baseball. He was named the winner of the Dick Howser Award by the American Baseball Coaches Association and Baseball America Player of the Year.

Helton was selected eighth overall by the Colorado Rockies in the 1995 amateur draft and never left the Mile High City.

After becoming the starting first baseman in 1995, Helton finished second in NL Rookie of the Year voting and posted a .315 batting average with 25 home runs and 97 RBIs.

He became one of three players to have multiple seasons of 100+ extra-base hits in his career and helped the Rockies reach the 2007 World Series.

Although Helton felt out of place at the start of the weekend, the Rockies’ second Hall of Famer now knows he’s where he belongs.

“I was just standing there waiting to go on stage, and the guys were so nice, but they all came around and gave me advice,” Helton said. “For me, that was the beginning of me feeling like I belonged. But tonight we’re having a players-only dinner and after that, I’ll probably feel at home.”

Jim Leyland was elected by the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee. He managed for 22 seasons, won three Manager of the Year awards, the 1997 World Series, had a career record of 1,769-1,728 as a manager, and was the manager of the U.S. team in 2017 when the Americans won their only World Baseball Classic crown.

Leyland wanted to emphasize how important fans are to baseball.

“No matter which Hall of Famer you’re rooting for today, or which team you’re rooting for, your presence is always felt,” Leyland said. “On your feet in the ninth inning with the home team clinging to a one-run lead, turning on your television for Game 1 of the World Series and watching 50,000 fans hoping and praying that this is their year, or a little boy or girl getting their first autograph and running back to the stands to show Mom and Dad what they just did. Ladies and gentlemen, that’s you. That’s baseball. And this is the Hall of Fame.”

Beltré led this year’s class with 95.1 percent of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America vote in his first year on the ballot. Helton followed with 79.7 percent in his sixth year of eligibility and Mauer received 76.1 percent in his first year.

Players who failed to meet the 75% threshold for election included Billy Wagner (73.8%), Gary Sheffield (63.9%), Andruw Jones (61.6%) and Carlos Beltrán (57.1%). Sheffield was on the ballot for the 10th time without meeting the 75% threshold and is no longer eligible for BBWAA consideration.

Joe Castiglione and Gerry Fraley were also honored during the Hall of Fame weekend. Castiglione, a Boston Red Sox radio host for 42 seasons, received the Ford C. Frick Award. Fraley was posthumously honored with the BBWAA Career Excellence Award for his work as a writer. Fraley has covered the Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves and Texas Rangers and has also worked as a national baseball reporter for the Dallas Morning News.

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