The Baseball Hall of Fame announced on Friday the cap logos that will appear on the plaques for the incoming Class of 2024. Adrián Beltré’s will feature a Texas Rangers logo, both Joe Mauer (Minnesota Twins) and Todd Helton (Colorado Rockies) will feature the logos of the only teams they played with, and longtime manager Jim Leyland’s cap will feature no logo whatsoever.
Beltré, Mauer, and Helton were each nominated to the Hall on Jan. 23. Leyland had previously been selected by Contemporary Baseball Era Non-Players Committee in December.
Of the three players, Beltré’s logo selection had been the only one up in the air — if only because he was the only one to suit up for multiple squads. Indeed, he appeared with four teams over his 21-year career, including an eight-year stint with the Rangers, a seven-year stint with the Los Angeles Dodgers and a five-year stint with the Seattle Mariners. He also spent the 2010 season with the Boston Red Sox.
“I am grateful for the time I spent with all of my teams during my career,” said Beltré in a team-issued statement “Looking back, I played more years in Texas than anywhere else and I believe my time with the Rangers represents the peak of my career, individually and from a team standpoint. But I could not have made this journey to Cooperstown without the Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, and their fans, and I am proud that each of the teams I played with will be listed on my Hall of Fame plaque.”
Beltré will become the third member of the Hall of Fame to have a Rangers logo on their plaque, joining former ace Nolan Ryan and backstop Iván Rodríguez.
Leyland, for his part, noted that he didn’t want any logo on his hat as a means of paying respect to all of the teams he managed. Each inductee is allowed some input on the cap logo, though ultimately the Hall of Fame makes the final call — a dynamic that has annoyed some players in the past.
This year’s Hall of Fame class will be officially inducted into Cooperstown on July 21.
