Adrian Beltre 3K Moments: A+ Walk-off

With Adrian Beltre just six hits from 3K, here’s a look back at ten of our favorite Adrian Beltre moments and antics. We’ll post a new one with each hit as we count down to 3,000!

For hit No. 2994:

The 2016 season for the Rangers was a weird, wild ride for a franchise that pretty much has a patent on weird and wild. As someone who writes immediate reaction recaps to each game, the 2016 season kept me on my toes from April through October as Texas never stopped never stopping.

Jeff Banister brought his #NeverEverQuit words of wisdom (hashtags are wisdom in 2017) with him from social media and they took a life of its own in 2015 when the Rangers came from more than eight games back in August to win the American League West.

However, it’s hard to say that the hashtag wasn’t even more of a prevalent winning mantra in 2016 where the Rangers set a record for one-run wins and made a habit out of coming from behind late to win games and causing me to delete all the mean words I had written about them probably losing.

I do fear that the 2016 season will only be remember for the three games that happened against Toronto in October, however.

The Rangers had the American League’s best record, Yu Darvish, Cole Hamels, and had gone for it with the trades for Jonathan Lucroy and Carlos Beltran. Despite being built to win, all that ultimately bought them was three extra games and an early vacation.

In many minds, the 2016 season was a failure for that fact alone. For me, however, I had a blast. The Rangers had never really been that team before. They had never really been the team that always seemed to perpetually triumph late and win on a clutch hit or rally out of nowhere.

The Rangers didn’t just do it for a week or so to annoy rivals, they did it all season long from nearly start to finish.

For me, the most memorable moment that I take from 2016 won’t be the ALDS loss to Toronto, it’ll be the July 25 game (just a year and a day ago) from when the Rangers beat the Oakland A’s 7-6 on a walk-off, two-run home run by Adrian Beltre with two-outs in the ninth.

Adrian Beltre has had his walk-off in a Rangers uniform before. Most notably, he was a part of history when his home run won the final game after back-to-back walk-off dingers from Geovany Soto and Leonys Martin against the Angels that came before him back in 2013.

However, in the fateful game against Oakland last season, it was Adrian Beltre’s night through and through. After I was happily forced to delete yet another hedged game recap of potential sadness, I watched Beltre round the bases with The Ballpark going nuts, and I wrote possibly the truest thing I’ve ever written:

Adrian Beltre finished the game going 4-for-5 with two home runs, three runs scored, three RBIs, and ten total bases. That final blast off then A’s closer Ryan Madson came with Texas clinging to about a 10% chance to win. Win probability didn’t account for Adrian Beltre, not on that night.

If you’re gloomy about this season or can’t get the taste of last October out of your mouth, I implore you to watch that video of Beltre coming through for another improbable win. Seeing that magic off Beltre’s bat will once again bring you the feeling of joy Adrian Beltre was born to deliver.