February 25 2011 Last updated at 01:44 PM ET
SURPRISE, Ariz. -- It's been a dozen years that Adrian Beltre has been a major leaguer, and for the most part they've been good ones.When he went looking for a job this winter, however, the Gold Glove-winning third baseman looked to address the deficiencies he saw in his career. He's only been to the postseason once, with the Dodgers in 2004, and that, he says, has to change.
Small wonder then that he opted to connect with the Texas Rangers, the defending American League champions. The Rangers went to the World Series in 2010, and Beltre says it's his belief they are in excellent position to get there again.
"There were other ways I could have gone," said Beltre, who considered signing with Angels or A's in order to stay close to his Southern California home. "I've accomplished a lot in my career but this team gives me a chance to get to the World Series.
"I've been in the big leagues 12 years and only played in the playoffs once. That doesn't sit well with me. I don't have a ring, and I want one."
Beltre is off to a bit of a slow start. He's developed a calf injury that will keep him out of action for the first 10-14 days of spring training games. That's not a problem for manager Ron Washington, who says he expects that by the time April rolls around, Beltre will be patrolling third base daily for his team.
"You just can't pry Adrian Beltre out of the lineup," Washington said. "That's his history. That's the kind of guy he is. That's part of what makes him a special baseball player."
Beltre found new life in Boston last year, hitting .321 with 28 homers and 102 RBI after signing as a free agent with the Red Sox following five years in Seattle. And it wasn't just his numbers that improved. It was the quality of his baseball life.
"Boston is a great place to play," he said. "You'd get to the park and 30 minutes before the game would start the stands would be full. And they'd stay until the last out. You couldn't ask for better fans or for a better experience."
That being said, the Red Sox' push for Beltre's services wasn't significant once another Adrian -- Gonzalez, that is -- came on the scene. Boston's successful pursuit of the Padres' longtime first baseman meant that the field was open for Beltre. The A's were a contender for a while, as were the Angels, but the package offered by the Rangers was hard to beat.
It's not just that he got a five-year, $80 million deal with an option for a sixth year. It was more that the Rangers, who have a young and improving pitching staff, a solid lineup and aggressive management, seemed to be a team that could make it deep in the postseason multiple times during Beltre's Texas odyssey.
"It's never been about numbers for me," Beltre said. "My numbers are good, but I've always been about winning. Looking at the players in this clubhouse, I have the feeling that the playoff chances here are very good. And for me, that's the fun of baseball, to be in the playoffs consistently.
"I'm overdue."
John is a National Baseball Writer for AOL FanHouse. He covered the Seattle Mariners from 2000-2009 for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and seattlepostglobe.org and the Oakland A's for two decades at the Oakland Tribune and The Daily Review (Hayward, CA). He is a multiple Associated Press Sports Editors award winner for his baseball coverage. A member of the Baseball Writers Association of America, he is a Hall of Fame voter.
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