Plaques for Adrian Beltre, Todd Helton, Joe Mauer and Jim Leyland were unveiled Sunday at the Baseball Hall of Fame, as the Class of 2024 was officially inducted into the hallowed halls of baseball history. Each gave speeches in front of a loud, energetic crowd filled with family, friends and many, many fans, recalling their journeys to that point and the people who helped them along the way.
Helton, just the second player to wear a Colorado Rockies cap on his Hall of Fame plaque, was the first to speak. He spent 17 years — his entire career — as a first baseman with the Rockies, winning four Silver Slugger Awards and three Gold Gloves while hitting 369 home runs. Before Helton spoke, former teammate Larry Walker appeared in a video featuring some of his best moments.
After thanking Walker for his kind words, the five-time All-Star thanked his wife, Christy, who was with him throughout his career — from his draft call in 1995 to his Hall of Fame call in 2023 — and was in the audience during his induction. He thanked his two daughters, then his mother, who “watched more baseball than most scouts” while carrying his little sister in tow. Helton also thanked his older brother, who he said never went to a friend’s house without first making sure Todd could go with him.
Helton then went on to talk about some of his baseball inspirations. He thanked his coaches as a teenager and in college. He thanked Clint Hurdle, the Rockies’ longtime manager, for making him not only a better player but a better husband and father. He thanked Rockies owner Dick Monfort for his friendship. He thanked the 411 teammates he had over 17 years. And he told several colorful stories about his years in the game.
Beltre, the 21-year veteran who retired in 2018, was inducted second. He enters the Hall with a Texas Rangers cap on his plaque, though he also spent time with the Los Angeles Dodgers (who originally signed him), the Seattle Mariners and a season with the Boston Red Sox. One of the greatest third basemen of all time, he is the first to have 450 home runs and 3,000 hits.
Beltre recalled his roots in the Dominican Republic, when he played in a league as a child and fell in love with third base. He recalled being noticed by MLB scouts and signed by the Dodgers at age 15. He pointed to June 23, 1998, as an important day; it was when he, a Double-A player, was called up to the majors. Beltre thanked many of his former coaches and teammates in the Dodgers organization by name and did the same for the Mariners, Red Sox and Rangers.
Beltre talked about his time with the Mariners, and in particular about “a guy who called himself King Felix,” also known as retired Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez. Beltre said he enjoyed playing with King Felix, but he also enjoyed playing against him when he joined the Rangers. Since Beltre hit a home run in his final at-bat against Hernandez, he said from the podium that he feels like he won.
When talking about his time with the Rangers, Beltre mentioned Elvis Andrus as his all-time favorite teammate. (Andrus spoke in Beltre’s introductory video.)
Beltré concluded by giving a heartfelt thank you to his three children and to the “true Hall of Famer,” his wife.
Leyland, who began his career 61 years ago as a minor leaguer for the Detroit Tigers, was the third to speak. He was chosen as manager through the Contemporary Baseball Era Non-Player Committee.
Leyland, one of the greatest managers of all time, recorded 1,769 wins with four teams (Pittsburgh Pirates, Florida Marlins, Colorado Rockies and Tigers). He was known for his passionate and motivational nature in the clubhouse, in the dugout and on the field. In Leyland’s introductory video, former Pirates player Andy Van Slyke recalled an incident in which Leyland, naked and screaming, smashed a plate of spaghetti on the clubhouse floor.
Leyland began by thanking baseball for giving him so much joy, “from the heart of a little boy to the soul of an old man.” He then seamlessly moved on to thank his children and his wife, Katie, who he says keep him on his toes.
“This wouldn’t happen without you, Katie,” Leyland said before launching into an emotional and humorous look back at his baseball career.
Leyland relished the opportunity to thank his former bosses, colleagues and players, often by name. Hall of Famers or minor leaguers who spent a year on the team, he remembered and thanked them for being a part of his long career. He got teary-eyed three times: when he talked about his friendship with Pirates fans, when he talked about how he led Team USA to the gold medal at the 2017 World Baseball Classic and when he concluded by thanking all fans everywhere for being the reason baseball exists.
Minnesota Twins homegrown catcher Joe Mauer closed out the proceedings. The St. Paul native, who spent his entire career with the Twins, began by thanking his family: his mother and father, his siblings and his grandfather Jake, who lived with them during his childhood. He especially thanked his maternal grandparents, who attended every single Twins home game during his 15-year career, whether he played or not.
Mauer gave special thanks to one of his high school coaches, who taught him the approach that helped him win three batting titles and the American League MVP award in 2009. (The secret? Not swinging at the first pitch.) He thanked Ron Gardenhire, his longtime Twins manager, and the many fans who cheered him on over the years. Mauer ended his speech by thanking his wife, his twin daughters and his young son, Chip. Mauer now watches Chip play minor league baseball and called it a “full circle moment.”
With the speeches over, we enter the quietest period of the year for the Hall of Fame. There are no votes or inductions to plan. We won’t hear anything from the Hall again until it releases the names to be added to the ballot later this year. But if you’re already thinking about marking your calendar for next year’s festivities, the date was announced at the end of the ceremony: Sunday, July 27, 2025.
