Numbers Don't Lie: Adrian Beltre Is First Ballot Hall of Famer

Adrián Beltré should be elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame today.

The former Texas Rangers third baseman is in his first year of eligibility after retiring five seasons ago.

Beltré should be a no-brainer selection for voters, but only one player has ever received 100% of the votes: Mariano Rivera in 2019. He was selected by all 425 voters in his first year of eligibility.

It's hard to argue with Rivera's perfect ballot. He is considered the greatest relief pitcher in the game's history, and the numbers back that up.

But other no-brainer selections didn't receive the same courtesy from voters, including Derek Jeter (one vote shy in 2020) and Ken Griffey Jr. (three votes shy in 2016).

Heck, 11 lunkheads didn't vote for Babe Ruth in 1936 as part of the inaugural class.

Votes were due by Dec. 31, so we're past the point of trying to show how Beltre was clearly a Hall of Famer. Anyone who saw him play on a daily basis can attest to his special talent. Anyone who knows how to look up statistics on bas-ref.com has no excuse for not voting for him.  He's a no-brainer.