Beltre tabbed AL Gold Glove third baseman

Texas' Adrian Beltre was selected as the Rawlings American League Gold Glove third baseman Tuesday night. It marks the third time Beltre has been honored, as he won Gold Gloves with Seattle in 2007 and 2008. "It means a lot," Beltre said. "I'm obviously proud of it. It's part of my game I take a lot of pride in." Beltre signed a five year, 80-million contract before the season. One of the reasons the Rangers signed Beltre was because they believed his defense could help the team's pitching staff. He didn't disappoint either, as he's the first Rangers third baseman to win the award since Buddy Bell in 1984. Beltre gave a lot of credit for his season to manager Ron Washington and the coaching staff. "The whole coaching staff is really about teaching you and teaching you how to play the game right," Beltre said. "I found that out the first week I got to spring training how enthusiastic Wash was about defense. I love to play defense. It's easy for me to listen to him and (be) trying to get better every day. Wash is one of those guys who makes whatever you want easy. It means a lot. Wash is a defensive guy." The Gold Glove is voted on by managers and coaches from around the league. Beltre made just 11 errors in 112 games at third base, winning despite missing more than a month because of a hamstring strain. His .965 fielding percentage was his best since 2006 when it was .968. He ranked third in the league with 2.86 total chances per nine innings and did not commit an error in his final 41 regular season games. He also was one of the big reasons the Rangers allowed 10 fewer runs than they did in 2010. "To be honest with you, I didn't give a thought about the Gold Glove or not," he said. "I don't play for the awards. When I was injured, my whole thing was getting back to the team and helping win the West. At the time, the Angels were really close to us. It (the award) never crossed my mind."