Beltré missing baseball less than he thought after 21 years

DALLAS (AP) - Adrian Beltre isn't missing baseball as much as he thought he would when he retired after 21 seasons and 3,166 hits.

The former Texas Rangers third baseman says he's still at peace with the announcement he made last November, which came months after he had actually decided to retire.

Beltre spoke at the SMU Athletic Forum on Wednesday, about 3½ weeks before he will be back in Texas when the Rangers retire his No. 29 jersey on June 8.

Beltre says he had pretty much made his decision last July. But he never said anything publicly so he could prepare himself mentally for his playing career to end.

The career hits leader for foreign-born players turned 40 last month. The Dominican-born Beltre spends his time with his family in California, transporting his three kids to school and their various activities. He says retirement is nice, and keeping him busy.

___

More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/tag/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports