Texas Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre joined Major League Baseball's exclusive 3,000-hit club on Sunday with a double in the fourth inning of a 10-6 loss to the Baltimore Orioles.

Beltre, 38, is the 31st major leaguer, and the first from the Dominican Republic, to post 3,000 hits in a career.

Beltre, a 20-year major league veteran who has played with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox and Rangers, has a .286 career batting average and 454 home runs.

He is now one of just 10 players to amass at least 3,000 hits and at least 400 homers.

He had moved within one of the milestone on Saturday night, when he then missed two chances at hit No. 3,000.

He struck out in his first at-bat on Sunday, but with the Rangers trailing 4-0 in the bottom of the fourth he swung on a 3-0 pitch from Orioles pitcher Wade Miley and hit a hard ground ball past third base for a stand-up double.

The game halted briefly as the Rangers celebrated the achievement and Beltre was congratulated on the field by his teammates and his family.

Fans had their phones out, recording the moment and roaring their approval.

Beltre is the first player to reach 3,000 hits while in a Rangers uniform and the first to reach the plateau during a game at the team's ballpark in Arlington, Texas.

"I think it's one of those days that as a Ranger, you'll forever remember that this is, on the calendar year, Ranger Day," Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. "Yeah, it's pretty special for a number of reasons."

The only other active player in the 3,000-hit club is the Miami Marlins' Japanese outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, who is tied for 22nd all-time with Hall of Famer Craig Biggio at 3,060.

Beltre's 3,000th hit came on the same afternoon as former Rangers' catcher Pudge Rodriguez was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Whether that happens or not, the 3,000-hit milestone almost guarantees Beltre's election to the shrine after he retires.

That, however, could well be years away, given the way Beltre has played since recovering from nagging calf injuries in spring training.

"I don't see any difference from last year or the year before," Banister said of Beltre. "He seems, at times, ageless."

source: AFP