Adrian Beltre isn't the player he was in 2011 or 2012, or even 2013 for that matter. He's 36 years old and his body is probably about 45 years old with his long list of injuries he continues to play through in true warrior fashion.
He's having one of the worst years of his career, but he's digging himself out of that distinction with a red-hot September, and he's been a huge reason the Rangers have made an improbable September push to take a 3 1/2-game lead in the AL West into the final 10 days of the regular season.
Beltre drove in three runs on Thursday to help the Rangers complete a sweep of the A's, giving him 11 RBIs in his last five games. But if you look back a little further than that, Beltre has been doing it for a while and might be flirting with AL Player of the Month honors for September if he can keep it up a little bit longer.
The veteran third baseman and future Hall of Famer is on a tear over his last 11 games, in which the Rangers are 9-2. In those 11 games, Beltre is batting .467 with a .510 on-base percentage and a 1.288 OPS. He has five doubles, three homers and a whopping 20 RBIs in that time and now has his batting average at a season-high .280. He now has 25 RBIs in September.
With 10 games remaining (six in September), it's not all out of the realm of possibility that Beltre could finish up September with 30 RBIs or so, which would easily put him in the conversation for Player of the Month honors.
