Baseball Hall of Fame opens doors for Todd Helton, Joe Mauer, Adrian Beltre and Jim Leyland

COOPERSTOWN — Joe Mauer grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota, watching Twins games and making believe he was a major-leaguer while playing in his backyard and area parks. He ended up playing his entire 15-year big-league career in his backyard, starring for the Twins.

Adrian Beltre started playing on a baseball team when he was nearly 13 in the Dominican Republic, beginning at second base on the advice of his dad before moving to third a few months later. He turned into one of baseball’s best ever at the position, playing for four teams across 21 years in the majors.

Todd Helton was the quarterback who briefly played between the Heath Shuler and Peyton Manning eras at the University of Tennessee in his hometown of Knoxville before focusing on the other sport he played. He stood out at the plate and in the field over 17 seasons with the Colorado Rockies.

And Jim Leyland was a minor-league catcher who eventually found success as a major-league manager, guiding four teams over 22 seasons.

These four men had something very special in common on Sunday. They were officially welcomed to the place where baseball’s greatest names live on forever. Mauer, Beltre, Helton and Leyland were inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame during ceremonies about a mile away at Clark Sports Center.

Their speeches detailed their journey, gave thanks to many and expressed a love of the game.

“Baseball is my passion and it blessed me with countless opportunity,” Beltre told the crowd, with 50 Hall of Famers sitting behind him, including the new ones, all under a big white tent. “And the best part was, I love it. I love baseball. And I had so much fun playing the game.

“Thank you to all the baseball fans for allowing me to be a part of your life for 21 seasons.”

Mauer, the youngest Hall of Famer at present at age 41 and the first to have been born in the 1980s, became a six-time All-Star and the only catcher to win three batting titles.

He mentioned his late grandfather, Jake Mauer, and late father, Donald “Jake” Mauer, citing their early coaching and mentorship and their support throughout.

“At a young age, they instilled in me the values of hard work and dedication,” the .306 career hitter said. “They raised me on the golden rule of treating others the way you want to be treated and always showing respect to my teammates, coaches, umpires and opponents.”

“Even at the end of my career as my grandpa’s eyesight was failing, he would stand right next to his TV in a batting stance and go through my every at-bat as though he was swinging alongside me,” Mauer added, his voice cracking.

“I hope they’re both looking down this afternoon with pride, knowing that all their time and hard work helped me get to this podium, standing here as a Hall of Famer.”

Leyland made it at age 79, voted in by the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee. He managed the Pirates, Marlins, Rockies and Tigers, winning 1,769 games, six division titles, three pennants and one World Series crown.

“My contributions to our beautiful pastime pale in comparison to the joy that it has brought to my life,” Leyland said, “from the heart of a little boy and the soul of an old man.”

Beltre played with the Dodgers (signing at 15), Mariners, Red Sox and Rangers. He’s the only primary third baseman with at least 3,000 hits (3,166) and 450 homers (477), and he’s second to Brooks Robinson in games played at the position with 2,759.

After agreeing to move from second to third with that first youth team when his teammate wanted to swap spots, Beltre fell in love with his new home.

“I loved every challenge of that position,” said Beltre, a five-time Gold Glove winner and just the fifth Dominican Hall of Famer. “I was hooked.”

Helton wasn’t hooked on football. He started three games his junior year at Tennessee after the first-string quarterback injured a knee in the opener. Then Helton also injured a knee and was replaced by Manning.

“I will say being the quarterback sandwiched between Heath Shuler and Peyton made my decision to pursue baseball easier,” Helton said.

The five-time All-Star first baseman was a career .316 hitter and won three Gold Gloves. He also was a superstitious player.

He received a speeding ticket one day in Colorado Springs, where the Rockies had their Triple-A team. Then he got three hits. So he purposely went on the same route the next day at the same speed and got another ticket from the same cop.

“I didn’t care,” Helton said. “I got three hits that day as well.”

His passion for the game came through, too.

“Competing on the baseball field is where I felt I belonged,” Helton said. “It was my church, a place where I felt most comfortable.”

And now he’s a Hall of Famer.