Adrian Beltre's baseball career began in adolescence, the Los Angeles Dodgers' third skinny player, who made his summer debut for Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire.

Two decades later, Beltre's career in the major leagues is over. A final stop is announced at Cooperstown.

Beltre, 39, announced his retirement on Tuesday morning, concluding a 21-year career in which he racked up 477 home runs and 3,166 hits, establishing himself as the third-best baseball player of his time.

He is the third major baseball player in the history of the major leagues with at least 3,000 hits and 400 innings.

In an announcement made by the Texas Rangers, his team over the last eight years of his career, Beltre said his decision was made after "careful consideration and many sleepless nights".

His retirement makes Bartolo Colon, his 45-year-old Rangers teammate, the last player to start in the 1990s.

Beltre had an impact on the four franchises for which he played, achieving the second most important season in the history of the Dodgers (48 in 2004), completing a seven-season race in which he scored 147 homers. He fought offensively for five seasons in Seattle, but twice won the Gold Glove award.

He has only spent one season – 2010 – in Boston, but this is a year that marks a new milestone in his career: Beltre has 49 best doubles in the American League, raised his points record to 0.919, made his first team of stars and hit the free agent market a third time, entering his 32-year season.

Beltre's decision – Los Angeles Angels or Texas Rangers? – would change the fate of the American West for years to come.

He opted for Texas, signing an $ 80 million five-year deal, and neither club nor player is ever the same.

For the next six seasons, he would rank in the top 15 in the most valuable player vote, and the Rangers flourished. They managed to stand out from their first world series championship in their first season, in 2011. They played in the playoffs in four of their first six. seasons in Arlington – and the world has learned that he is a player as sublime as entertaining.

S & # 39; he indulged in a "quarrel" going on with Elvis Andrus, imposing his leadership at the clubhouse or playing highlights at third base, Beltre was as discreet as he was charismatic that he was subtly dominating over the diamond.

His numbers are worthy of a Cooperstown match – oh, he also ranks 14th overall and 11th with 636 doubles – but modern statistics are also very nice. According to Sports Info Solutions, Beltre has almost doubled the number of defensive innings saved compared to any other third baseman since the development of the statistics in 2003. He also ranks 10th in defensive wins over the replacement – for all posts.

While baseball continues to struggle to honor its past while introducing the game into a sometimes chaotic, modern era, the consensus is elusive. Whether the games are too long or too short, if a player is worthy of the Hall of Fame or even what constitutes an extremely valuable player, these are inevitable factions that will take advantage.

There will be little debate about Beltre's legacy, however. And it will be a glorious day in five years, when its sustained brilliance will be honored in the supreme sanctuary of the game.

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