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★★★
We all know Adrian Beltre is a character, the guy who loses it if someone tries to rub his head, or goofs around with shortstop Elvis Andrus while playing defense. We got another reminder that the dude is and has been great at baseball for a long time on Monday night, however, as Beltre hit for his third career cycle. Three cycles ties him for the major league record with three other players: John Reilly, Babe Herman and Bob Meusel.
Beltre still has some years left to him, so maybe there is a fourth cycle in him, but you can’t actually predict or project those things. If you could, you’d expect someone like Mike Trout, who has incredible power and incredible speed, to be racking up cycles left and right. That’s not how it works, though, which is part of what makes seeing a cycle so fun in the first place: they’re basically random occurrences, the hitting version of a triple play in that everything needs to be just right for them to occur.
What we can do, however, is watch Beltre’s cycle as often as we want, and appreciate this topper on a fine career. As much as his years with the Mariners and his aggressively early call-up with the Dodgers attempted to damage his career numbers, he’s still a lifetime .284/.336/.477 batter who hit .295/.345/.502 from 2004 through 2014. He’s one of the greatest defenders at third in history, and his run with the Rangers might have cemented him as a future Hall of Famer. The cycle is random, sure, but it’s also an excuse to remember just how great Beltre has been. With any luck, he’ll continue being Beltre for a few more years yet.
- The narrative is that the Rockies are rushing pitching prospect Jon Gray to the majors, but that’s not how things are going down compared to his peers.
- Everyone grades the trade deadline winners and losers. Kiley McDaniel graded the 58 prospects dealt before the deadline instead.
- Normally, hit by pitches and bench clearings require unwritten rules analysis. The Blue Jays and Royals, however, forced a look at the written rules instead.
- Toledo Mud Hens’ slugger Mike Hessman set the (affiliated) minor league record with his 433rd career homer on Monday night. Next up: Hector Espino and the 484 he hit, many of them coming in the unaffiliated -- but still minor league -- Mexican League.
- The Angels are upset that C.J. Wilson isn’t toughing out an elbow injury. Kids, don’t let athletes make decisions about someone else’s health.
- The Mets are all alone in first place. Where do they (and their fans) go from here?
- Walt Jocketty described the Reds as undergoing a “reboot,” and that’s going to take some explaining.
- Jack Z was hired by the Mariners to be their general manager on the strength of his player development record. Guess where Jack Z’s Mariners have failed miserably over the last seven years?
- Xander Bogaerts is thriving, but his power is nowhere to be found.
- This is a dog being interviewed during a baseball game.
- A ranking of the craziest commercials of all-time that feature baseball players.
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