Adrián Beltré [ah-dree-AN bell-TRAY] (born April 7, 1979 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) is a Major League Baseball third baseman who plays for the Seattle Mariners. Previously, he played for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1998-2004). He bats and throws right-handed.

In a seven-year career, Beltré is a .274 hitter with 147 home runs and 510 RBI in 966 games.

Beltré debuted with the Dodgers in the 1998 season at age 19. At 5'11", 220 lbs, he is a disciplined hitter who uses the entire field and can hit for power. An above-average runner, he runs the bases intelligently and will get every extra base that he can.

At third base, Beltré has a strong and secure arm, is a master at handling slow rollers, and has terrific range to his left.

Beltré enjoyed his best season in 2004, with career highs in batting average (.334), RBI (121), runs (104), hits (200), doubles (32), on base percentage (.388), slugging average (.629), OPS (1,017), total bases (376), and 48 home runs, also a league lead. He won the Silver Slugger Award, and finished second in the National League MVP voting, just behind Barry Bonds.

Beltré was signed by the Mariners as a free agent before the 2005 season to a five-year $64m deal.

See also

• Players from Dominican Republic in MLB

External links

• Adrián Beltré at:
  • ESPN (profile and daily update)
  • Baseball Reference (statistics)