Bacardi Untameable - Adrian Beltre, a charming anomaly

Adrian Beltre is easily one of baseball's most delightful anomalies. Over nearly two decades in the major leagues, the 35-year-old has scoffed at the traditional aging curve while eschewing the stoicism that characterized the game's past heroes. 

While Ted Williams was loath to crack a smile on the diamond, Beltre renounces that kind of gravitas. The eccentric veteran is often shown joking with teammates or opponents in the midst of battle, charming whomever happens to cross his path at third base.

Beltre, a 17-year veteran with multiple All-Star berths and Gold Glove awards, is afforded this kind of latitude to clown around only because his idiosyncrasies are matched by his immense talents. Though stints with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Seattle Mariners earlier in his career were marred by volatility, Beltre unambiguously established himself as one of the game's premier third basemen over the last half-decade, earning the right to serve simultaneously as court jester and middle-of-the-lineup threat.

Signed by the Dodgers in 1994 as an amateur free agent, Beltre reached the major leagues shortly after his 19th birthday, as the hefty third baseman dazzled scouts with his power and arm strength. Beltre proved to be a versatile infielder through the nascent stages of his big-league career, consistently reaching double digits in home runs and stolen bases while playing superb defense at third base. However, Beltre's plate discipline eroded as the league became more familiar with the Dominican native, and his offensive numbers quickly deteriorated.

Beltre's value grew increasingly dubious as his on-base deficiencies grew, and his power was dwarfed by the gaudy numbers produced by some of his contemporaries during the nadir of baseball's steroid era. From 2001 to 2003, only six percent of the league's 231 qualified hitters managed a lower on-base percentage than Beltre's .300 mark, and his numbers were particularly underwhelming for his position.

Beltre, however, silenced his critics with a preposterous power surge in 2004 with free agency looming, as he blasted a league-best 48 home runs with a 161 wRC+ through 156 games. Many speculated that performance-enhancing drugs fueled Beltre's remarkable campaign, but the conjecture didn't deter the Mariners from signing him to a five-year, $64 million deal the following winter.

So began an ill-fated stint in Seattle, where the spacious confines of Safeco Field stifled Beltre's growing power and eroded his confidence. Toiling in obscurity for a lousy team, Beltre became increasingly dejected as he struggled to live up to his lofty contract.

"Sometimes you didn't really feel comfortable," Beltre told the Seattle Times in 2010. "You'd make solid contact, and expect it to be a double, or a home run, and it would be an out. Your confidence goes down. But that's baseball. You cannot let stuff like that affect you, even though it does."

His final year with the Mariners was particularly disastrous, as he managed a career-worst 81 wRC+ while tallying just eight home runs in 111 games, effectively forcing him to sign a one-year deal with the Boston Red Sox in an effort to rebuild his waning value.

"In the beginning, I didn't want to settle for one year," Beltre said. "I expected to have more than one-year offers. It (turning down arbitration) is something I don't regret at all doing, because I thought I somehow might receive a multi-year offer from Seattle. But it didn't happen."

Beltre's migration to the east coast proved tremendously fruitful, as he immediately thrived with the Red Sox, hitting .321/.365/.553 with 28 doubles in his lone season with the club. Though he maintained his aggressive approach at the plate, Beltre demonstrated unprecedented bat-to-ball skills, trimming his strikeout rate to a career-low 12.8 percent while making contact on 82.8 percent of his swings, a personal best.

With restored value and an unfulfilled desire to win a championship, Beltre inked a six-year, $96-million deal with the Texas Rangers after the 2010 campaign, following The Rangers loss to the San Francisco Giants in the World Series. 

Though his four-year tenure in Texas has yet to yield a championship - the Rangers came within one victory of a World Series title in 2011, falling in seven games to the Cardinals - Beltre finally found the consistency that eluded him earlier in his career. Like a fine wine, Beltre has improved with age, posting an OPS of at least .873 in each of the last four years while averaging 29 homers per season.

Few players manage the kind of late-career success Beltre has enjoyed in recent years, and only three other third basemen in the live-ball era rivalled Beltre's offensive productivity after the age of 31:

[Courtesy: Baseball-Reference Play Index]

Even as injuries befell the Rangers and their 2014 season devolved into an unmitigated disaster, Beltre's name was penciled into the lineup with impressive regularity despite an ongoing battle with his cranky legs. Though he endured a 16-day stint on the disabled list in April, Beltre has appeared in 125 games this season, compiling a .323/.380/.493 line while producing a 143 OPS+, his best mark since his mind-boggling 2004 campaign.

When Beltre's career ends, reasonable people will debate whether he deserves to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame. He won't reach the 500-home run plateau - a milestone that historically guaranteed induction to Cooperstown - but 3,000 hits remains a distinct possibility and his 69.7 wins above replacement outrank all but nine third basemen for the position's all-time lead.

If the day comes when Beltre is afforded a spot among baseball's most enduring legends, remember fondly the affable third baseman with a propensity for dropping to a knee while launching a home run and tossing his glove in the air in a futile attempt to snag a line drive. Celebrate his talent, charm, and longevity. But don't even think about touching his head.