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Article: COMING OF AGE BELTRE'S GROWING PAINS HAVE MADE THE THIRD BASEMAN OF THE FUTURE THE STAR OF TODAY.(Sports)
- Article from:
- Daily News (Los Angeles, CA)
- Article date:
- October 5, 2004
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 Daily News. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Rich Hammond Staff Writer
At age 19, Albert Pujols was facing junior-college pitchers in Missouri. Barry Bonds was a sophomore at Arizona State and Jim Thome was a struggling shortstop with the rookie-league Gulf Coast Indians.
Then there was Adrian Beltre. At an age when hitters are considered advanced if they can hit a curveball, Beltre found himself in the majors, flailing away against Randy Johnson and Greg Maddux.
After only two full seasons in the minors, Beltre joined the Dodgers in June 1998 as their third baseman of the future. Six years later, Beltre has fulfilled that promise and reached the end of a long, frustrating journey ...