Signing Adrian Beltre before the 2011 MLB season was one of the best moves the Texas Rangers have made in a long time, and that’s saying something. The now 34-year-old slugger hit .296 in his first season in Texas, which included a World Series trip, and hasn’t recorded an average below .300 since then. However, his greatest contribution to the Rangers’ fan base is his comical friendship with shortstop Elvis Andrus.
Andrus and Beltre mess with each other almost constantly, even during games. In fact, their most common joust is trying to distract the other when he’s trying to catch a popup. Andrus particularly enjoys getting very close to Beltre right before the elder player makes the catch, after which Beltre looks at his younger teammate with a face of disgust that makes me laugh out loud every single time.
And then there’s Beltre’s head. For whatever reason, he hates it when anyone touches his head so naturally, Andrus does that as often as he can, which results in him getting pelted by the likes of Beltre’s hat, glove and anything else he can throw that’s handy at the time.
But it’s all in good fun and the two players really enjoy each other’s company. Not to mention, they are a superb third base-shortstop combo in the Rangers’ infield, so it’s no wonder Texas locked up Andrus with a new eight-year contract this year. Either that or the organization’s officials enjoy watching the Andrus-Beltre silent comedy show as much as we do. I hope you enjoyed the video above as much as I did.
Jeric Griffin is the Director of Content for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @JericGriffin, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google
