Adrian Beltre says losing 2011 World Series to Cardinals was career's worst moment

When the St. Louis Cardinals won the 2011 World Series over the Texas Rangers, it was sure to go down in history as one of the best. The Cardinals had a miraculous run to finish the season and even make the postseason. They then had a gritty showing in the World Series (along with some help from Nelson Cruz) to take home the trophy. For one former Texas Ranger, that series still haunts him.

For the St. Louis Cardinals, the 2026 season is a chance to commemorate historic teams like the 1926, 2006, and 2011 World Series championship teams. Conversely, the opponents of those title-winning teams have harsh memories coming back up this year. For Adrian Beltre, those memories are quite drab.

Hall of Famer Adrian Beltre is one of the best third basemen in MLB history. He ranks seventh all time in fWAR (83.5 fWAR), and he was excellent at balancing offensive output with superb defense. He has five Gold Gloves, two Platinum Gloves, and four Silver Sluggers to his name. Beltre knows a thing or two about both personal and team success.

During the Rangers' 2011 World Series run, Beltre was a key part of the team's output. He finished the 2011 postseason with a .264/.303/.542 slash line for a .844 OPS. He hit five home runs and drove in 19 runners in the playoffs altogether. In the World Series alone, Beltre hit two home runs and had a .889 OPS. He certainly did his part to help the Rangers win.

His efforts, however, weren't enough to get the Rangers four victories. Game 6 in particular still haunts Beltre to this day.

Adrian Beltre says the losing Game 6 of the 2011 World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals was the worst moment of his career.

Hall of Famer Adrian Beltre was on an episode of Foul Territory recently, and he revealed that losing the 2011 World Series was one of the worst moments of his career.

"I can't imagine any World Series worse than that one," said Beltre in reference to the 2011 World Series. "I think that was the more painful time in my career. I think that everybody had a miserable time after that Game 6."

The Rangers were within one strike of winning it all in Game 6 before blowing it multiple times. Lance Berkman and David Freese saved the Cardinals on numerous occasions in that game, perhaps most notably Freese's game-tying triple in the bottom of the ninth off Neftali Feliz. The triple was lofted to right field, and Nelson Cruz misplayed the ball, allowing both runners to score and Freese to slide into third base.

"That was terrible, but you know, it's baseball. You have to try and forget about it," said Beltre. "That was really, really bad. The worst time in my career. Being so close and not getting the job done."

Adrian Beltre is one of the most beloved players of the 2000s. He's a respectable player and man, as is evidence by his reception of the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award in 2015. However, hearing that the 2011 World Series still haunts Beltre must be music to Cardinals' fans' ears.

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