NEWSLETTER
Adrian Beltre is nothing short of a national treasure.
At 38 years old, Beltre is playing in his 20th Major League season, and is still hitting over .300 with advanced defensive metrics that say he’s a net positive at third base … again, at 38 years old.
On the all-time WAR list, Beltre’s 83.1 fWAR ranks 30th of all time, two spots behind Chipper Jones and just ahead of Joe DiMaggio, Roberto Clemente, Jeff Bagwell, and Pete Rose. Yeah, he’s the real deal.
But given his age, future enshrinement, years in the league, and widely-earned league respect … he sometimes, well, does whatever the hell he wants. Like last night, for example, Beltre was ejected in the eighth inning of the Marlins’ blowout 22-10 win at Globe Life Park for one of the strangest reasons you’ll ever see.
Take a look:
Yep, that’s second-base umpire Gerry Davis ejecting Beltre for moving the on-deck circle to a more desirable location.
Well, okay, in reality, the umpire told Beltre to go stand in the circle while Nomar Mazara was batting, and Beltre’s response was basically the equivalent of the “I’m not touching you, I’m not touching you!” argument that older brothers have used to torment their siblings for years.
Technically accurate, but still … you know what you’re doing.
Adrian Beltre was ejected for dragging the on-deck circle after ump asked him to get in it. You can see how far he moved it. pic.twitter.com/EdthGPrLNC
— Tim Healey (@timbhealey) July 27, 2017
Apparently, the rest of the players on the field – from both teams – had a good laugh about it as it was going on. Marlins reliever Drew Steckenrider said it was “one of the funniest things” he’s ever seen, and that he had to go stand by Derek Dietrich with their gloves over their faces to cover the laughing.
Again, I’m getting a flashback to the days of elementary school when one of your friends was getting yelled at by the teacher, and there’s nothing you can do but sit back and laugh until it all blows over.
Beltre’s response totally tracks with that, too: “He told me to stand on the mat so I pulled the mat where I was and stand out it. I actually did what he told me. I was listening.” Oh, brother. Well, Beltre, you may have been ejected, but the country is behind you.
Oh, and hey, Gerry Davis, Beltre can do whatever he wants. Got it? Good.
Adrian Beltre is the greatest and Gerry Davis is in need of a sense of humor. pic.twitter.com/y9Mi5EMoC0
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 27, 2017
