Elvis Andrus Joins Texas Rangers Legends During Hall of Fame Induction

ARLINGTON — Elvis Andrus became the latest player from the 2010 and 2011 World Series teams to be inducted into the Rangers Baseball Hall of Fame on Saturday.

The induction ceremony was held before the Rangers-Mariners game.

Andrus retired last year after a 15-year career, 12 of which were spent with the Rangers.

Michael Young, one of his former teammates and a member of the Rangers Hall of Fame, presented Andrus.

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Andrus was originally signed by the Atlanta Braves as an international free agent out of Venezuela in 2005. He joined the Rangers in 2007 as one of several players acquired by Texas in the Mark Teixeira trade.

Young referenced that moment as he introduced Andrus, calling it a “weird time” because Teixeira was set for free agency after the season and “we all saw the writing on the wall.”

The deal ended up transforming the franchise, as Andrus became one of the final pieces that propelled the Rangers to back-to-back World Series appearances.

“In so many ways, Elvis was the face of that era of Rangers baseball,” Young said.

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Adrian Beltré, another former teammate, also spoke. Beltré famously doesn’t like anyone touching his head. No one touched the third baseman’s head more than the playful Andrus, as their relationship became a touchstone for Rangers fans of that era.

“He’s a wonderful human being, a great father, a great husband and was a great teammate,” Beltré said. That’s all you need to know about him.”

After Beltré was done speaking, the pair embraced, and Andrus tried to touch his head. Then, Beltré presented Andrus with his blue Rangers Hall of Fame jacket. Then the pair unveiled his plaque, which will be featured outside Globe Life Field.

Andrus, who has stayed in the area part-time to serve as a pre-game and post-game analyst for Rangers Sports Network, was clearly overcome by the presentation.

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He thanked Rangers fans, his family, his teammates, former managers and a host of others in his acceptance speech.

“First, I want to say I’m sorry for being so annoying,” he joked as he was addressing his teammates. “For real, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for treating me with respect and dignity. Thank you for showing me the way to being a big leaguer.”

The ceremony ended with an “around the horn first pitch” as former first baseman Mitch Moreland started a series of throws to Young, Andrus and Beltré, respectively.

By the end of his time in Texas he started more games than any player at one position in his career (1,628 at shortstop), was one of three players to appear in 12 straight seasons with the franchise and played in at least 145 games in 10 of his 12 campaigns with the Rangers.

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When he broke in during the 2009 season he was eventually named Rangers rookie of the year and finished second in American League rookie of the year voting.

With Texas he slashed .274/.330/.372 with a .702 OPS. He hit 303 doubles, 48 triples, 76 home runs and 636 RBI. He also scored 893 runs and stole 305 bases.

He is the franchise’s all-time leader in stolen bases and in steals of home with seven. He was a constant threat on the basepaths and stole at least 20 bases in 10 different seasons.

In franchise history he ranks second in total games (1,652), at bats (6,366), triples (48), and sacrifice hits (100). He ranks third in runs (893) and hits (1,743). He also ranks fifth doubles (303), total bases (2,370) and multi-hit games (451). He made two All-Star teams in 2010 and in 2012.

He played on five Rangers teams that reached the postseason and remains the club’s all-time leader in playoff games (42), at bats (173), hits (46), and stolen bases (9).

Andrus was traded to the Athletics after the 2020 season in a deal that yielded current starting catcher Jonah Heim. He played parts of the next three seasons with the Athletics and the Chicago White Sox. A minor-league contract with Arizona in 2024 did not yield a call-up to the Majors. 

He had a .269/.325/.370/.695 batting line with 102 homers, 775 RBI, and 347 steals in 2,059 games over 15 seasons.

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