ARLINGTON -- Rangers manager Jeff Banister, who was 1-for-1 with a single in his Major League career, had a pretty good perspective on Adrian Beltre reaching 5,000 total bases on Friday night.
"Yeah, he's got 4,999 more than me," Banister said.
Actually, he has more than that. Beltre logged a single and a three-run home run in the Rangers' 10-0 win over the Angels, giving him 5,003 career total bases.
Beltre is the 21st player to go over 5,000 total bases. That's fewer than the 30 players with 3,000 hits and the 27 who have 500 home runs. The all-time total bases leader is Hank Aaron with 6,856. Just ahead of Beltre is Mel Ott, who had 5,041 total bases.
"I'm surprised I'm able to catch those guys," Beltre said. "I'm glad it happened obviously. It means that I've been playing for a long time. That's it."
The three-run homer off Angels starter Ricky Nolasco gave Beltre 1,596 RBIs for his career, ranking 32nd all-time, according to Elias. Beltre passed Hall of Famers George Brett and Mike Schmidt, who both had 1,595.
Because RBIs became an official Major League statistic in 1920, Elias' tally begins at that date. Due to the uncertain nature of record keeping in the early part of the 20th century, some discrepancies may exist between the stats provided today by different historical data providers.
MLB.com utilizes different statistics than Elias. By MLB.com's count, Beltre sits at 36th.
Banister said the Rangers do take note every time Beltre hits another milestone.
"Look, watch our dugout," Banister said. "If you don't appreciate what this guy does, you need to shake yourself. What he's doing every single night, I don't want to blink. I don't want to miss anything. You have to enjoy what he embodies and where his numbers are. It's special to watch."
The big milestone is still to come. With two hits on Friday, Beltre now has 2,977 for his career. He is 23 hits away from becoming the 31st player in Major League history with 3,000 hits.
Beltre would likely be there already if not for missing almost the first two months of the season because of strained right calf muscle. But in the 33 games since being activated from the disabled list, he is hitting .289 with six home runs, 25 RBIs, a .385 on-base percentage and a .521 slugging percentage.
"I'm seeing the ball OK," Beltre said. "It's a work in progress. Obviously, I could be better."