Jan. 24 (UPI) — Adrian Beltre, Todd Helton and Joe Mauer were elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the Baseball Writers’ Association of America announced.
The inductees were announced Tuesday night. Beltre and Mauer were first-ballot inductees. Helton was on the ballot for the sixth time. Players elected need to be named on at least 75% of the writers’ ballots.
“Being here now is something I can’t describe,” Beltre told MLB Network. “But I’m humbled and honored and trying to enjoy it.”
Beltre was named on 366 of 385 ballots (95.1%). Helton was named on 307 (79.7%), while Mauer was named on 293 (76.1%).
“Obviously, this is an individual award, but there are so many people I need to thank for helping me get there, challenging me and pushing me to be great,” Mauer said. “I’ve got a lot of thank yous ahead of me, that’s for sure.”
Beltre, 44, hit .286, with 477 home runs over 2,933 appearances over his 21 seasons. The longtime third baseman led MLB with 199 hits in 2013 and 48 home runs in 2004. He finished second in the National League MVP race in 2004.
The four-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glove Award winner spent eight seasons with the Texas Rangers, seven with the Los Angeles Dodgers, five with the Seattle Mariners and one with the Boston Red Sox.
Helton, 50, hit .316, with 369 home runs over 2,247 appearances in 17 seasons. The third baseman spent his entire career with the Colorado Rockies. Helton, a five-time All-Star, led MLB with a .372 batting average in 2000.
“It’s just too good a thing to happen to me, I guess,” Helton said. “It’s the greatest honor you can get as a baseball player. To me, getting your number retired as a player and making the Hall of Fame are the two greatest achievements you can get.”
Mauer, 40, hit .306, with 143 home runs over 15 seasons with the Minnesota Twins. The longtime catcher and first baseman led MLB in batting average twice (.347 in 2007 and .365 in 2009).
He earned American League MVP honors in 2009, when he also led MLB with a .444 on-base percentage and totaled a career-high 191 hits, 28 home runs and 96 RBIs. Mauer, a six-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove winner, led the American League with a .328 average in 2008.
He is just the third catcher to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, joining Johnny Bench and Ivan Rodriguez.
Longtime Houston Astros pitcher Billy Wagner, 52, fell just five votes short of election. He will be on the ballot one more time in 2025. Outfielders Gary Sheffield (63.9%), Andruw Jones (61.6%) and Carlos Beltran (57.1%) also fell short of election.
Sheffield was on the ballot for the last time and will now look to the Baseball Writers’ Association of America’s Historical Overview Committee for consideration on the Contemporary Baseball Era Players Committee ballot for induction.
Alex Rodriguez (34.8%), Manny Ramirez (32.5%), Chase Utley (28.8%) and Andy Pettitte (13.5%) were among the other players who fell short of election in 2024.
Beltre, Helton and Mauer join former MLB manager Jim Leyland, a committee selection, in the class of 2024. Hall of Fame weekend will be held July 21 in Cooperstown, N.Y.
