There have been few who played better baseball over the last 25 years than Adrian Beltre. One of the last players who began their careers in the 1990s to retire, he has certainly racked up Hall of Fame numbers.
His rookie cards have largely flown under the radar for years, but as his inevitable election approaches, collectors seem to finally be taking notice. In the last three months, over 3,800 Beltre cards have sold on eBay alone, for a total of nearly $100,000.
With his career now firmly in the rearview mirror, he certainly stands among the best at his position to ever play the game and one of the greatest to play during first 20 years of the 21st century.
Beltre has consistently hit for average and power throughout his career. But he didn’t just do damage with his bat. He won his fifth Gold Glove in 2016, and his consistently well-rounded play and fearlessness made him one of baseball’s best–and most respected– players.
Beltre’s lifetime offensive numbers over 21 seasons certainly merit a day in Cooperstown by themselves. He collected 3,166 hits–the most ever by a Dominican player– belted 477 homers and drove in 1,707 runs.
His durability was never questioned. His total of 2,933 major league games ranks as the 14th-highest total in MLB history.
Prospect and Rookie Cards
Beltre had a couple of minor league cards but broke into the mainstream hobby on Bowman and Upper Deck cards as a top prospect in 1997, the season before he made his debut.
Even in gem mint holders, those early cards aren’t expensive. 1997 Bowman Chrome Beltre rookie cards sell for prices that are far less than players who aren’t as accomplished. 
There were no autographed Bowman Chrome cards but Beltre does have a Refractor parallel that could be considered his ‘best’ card. There is also a “Bowman International” Beltre card in Chrome along with a Refractor parallel and he’s part of the basic Bowman set in ’97 (card #194) with an International parallel.
The 1997 Bowman’s Best set features Beltre as well with even gem mint examples selling for relatively modest sums. Refractor versions represent the high-end here, too. Mirror Image cards were also part of the set.
1997 Upper Deck SP Top Prospects is another early Beltre issue.
In 1998, still a teenager, he hit a measly .215 in his debut with the Dodgers while appearing in 77 games. Beltre’s first certified autographs arrived that spring with Donruss Signatures and Bowman, both of which are in most collectors’ budgets. He appears in numerous other products issued during his rookie season including Topps flagship.
He didn’t play the game with the flashiness of Ken Griffey Jr. or post the jaw-dropping power numbers of Hank Aaron. But like Aaron, he’s been consistently excellent over a long period of time.
Now, he’ll take his place among the immortals.
You can see the current hottest Adrian Beltre cards on eBay in the live list below.
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