The 100 Greatest in 100 Days: #89 Adrian Beltre

Coming in at #89 on the list is third baseman Adrian Beltre. While somehow managing to play two decades in relative anonymity, Beltre’s credentials are no less worthy of a spot in the top 100. Beltre’s standing among third basemen as both an offensive and defensive contributor is second to none. Among third basemen who played at least half their career at the hot corner, he is the all-time leader in hits, RBIs, games played, and plate appearances. He’s second in doubles, third in home runs and WAR, and fourth in runs. His 1,151 career extra-base hits are the most all-time for a third baseman and the 14th most in Major League Baseball history regardless of position. He’s second all-time in dWAR among third basemen, and he has the 13th highest dWAR total in history regardless of position. He’s the only player in history in the top-15 in both extra-base hits and dWAR. Beltre is also the only player in history with 3,000 hits, 450 home runs, and 27 dWAR, and he’s the only third baseman in history with 3,100 hits, 600 doubles, and 400 home runs.

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Hi (hopefully) awesome reader! I welcome your comments. However, please be aware that I make all of my arguments using facts, statistics, and logic. Unfortunately, the average comment on a top-100 list goes something like this:

"UR StooPid. (Insert player) is trash. I've watched (pick a sport) for (pick a number of years) and (pick a player) is better than everyone. UR DUMB. HAHA6969."

–Some Jabroni

As cognitively stimulating as this species of comment is, it ends up being a missed opportunity to share a nuanced perspective. I reply to all comments that show even the most basic levels of thought and humility. The people who make the comments like the example above are under the assumption that the three seconds of thought that popped into their brains after reading the list is more than the 1000s of hours that I put into creating and maintaining the lists. I would be happy to defend any placement, or make an adjustment if one is warranted. If you are a jabroni, like the one above, then your comment will die in the lonely void of the unpublished comments section.

For everyone else, I look forward to your comments!

P.S. The theme of this site and the top-100 lists is that athletes from previous generations have historically been grossly overrated by sports publications in a way that is statistically improbable. Click on the "About" dropdown menu to see just how badly the average top-100 list disproportionately favors athletes from older generations when leagues were smaller, race quotas existed, and globalization wasn't a thing. Also, please consider reading "The History" section of the sport you are commenting on.

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