Beltre never felt like a hall of famer in real time to me either. This is why I to use the math, because it is objective and my perceptions and feelings are very much not.
Beltre is clearly well over the HOF line, he just had a weird career structured to feel like it was less valuable than it was. A league average bat and great defense for his first five years (97 OPS+), a monster year in 2003, then off to Seattle where he was a league average bat (101 OPS+) again for five years. His age 31 through 38 seasons are where he finally racked up offensive value consistently. The first year or two it felt like a fluke again like his 2003 season, and then it felt like it was too late in his career for the blossoming to get him over the line.
Clayon Kershaw has a higher ERA+ than any other pitcher in major league history who threw more than 1,5000 innings. If he is not A HOFer I genuinely cannot think of anyone who is deserving.
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