It's only fitting the Rangers retire Adrian Beltre's jersey. There was never anybody quite like him previously in Rangers history and there probably won't be anybody like him again.

On Saturday evening, the Rangers welcomed Beltre, who retired after last season, back for a ceremony to make his No. 29 the fourth retired jersey in club history. He joins Nolan Ryan (34), Johnny Oates (26) and Ivan Rodriguez (7). In addition, No. 42 is retired throughout baseball in honor of Jackie Robinson.

How best to sum up the reasons for the retirement of his jersey?

Well, there isn't just one reason. Instead, here are 29 reasons for retiring No. 29:

1. Because in eight seasons with the Rangers, he transformed himself from a very good player into a Hall of Fame third baseman. He played more games with the Rangers (1,098) than with any of the other three clubs for which he played. He ranks among the Rangers' club leaders in games (fifth), hits (seventh, 1,277), homers (fourth, 199), RBIs (sixth, 699), batting average (sixth, .305) and OPS (seventh, .866).

2. Because he played in one World Series, reached the playoffs four different times and went to the All-Star game three times in his first four years with the Rangers.

3. Because he won three Gold Gloves with the Rangers to help cement his reputation as one of the greatest fielding third basemen of all time. He won five in total, making him one of four players all-time with 3,000 hits, 400 homers and five Gold Gloves. Hall of Famers Willie Mays, Carl Yastrzemski and Ken Griffey Jr. are the others.

4. Because he was the first player to reach 3,000 hits while wearing a Rangers uniform. And he did it appropriately on Hall of Fame Sunday and was immediately joined on the field by his sprinting kids. He added another 166 hits in his career to finish 15th all-time.

Texas Rangers Adrian Beltre (29) hugs his son Adrian Jr. and daughters Canila and Cassandra (right) after they dropped the banner on his 3,000 career hit in the fourth inning at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Sunday, July 30, 2017. (Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News) (Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)

5. Because they won when he homered. Whether coincidence or causal, there seemed to be something extra gained from Beltre homers. Including the postseason, the Rangers were a ridiculous 145-44 (.767) in those games. Compare that to Josh Hamilton (106-39, .731) or Juan Gonzalez (208-123, .628).

6. Because he hit for the cycle. Twice. He's the only Ranger to do it on multiple occasions, once in 2012 and then again three years later. He's one of three players to finish with three cycles in a career. The other two -- Bob Meusel and Babe Herman -- both had all their cycles before 1940.

7. Because he hit three homers in the 2011 AL Division Series-clinching win in his first year with the Rangers. His three solo homers at Tampa Bay lifted the Rangers to a 4-3 win in the game and a 3-1 series win. There have been only 11 occasions ever in which a player hit three homers in a postseason game.

8. Because he once hit a game-winning, ninth-inning homer despite having an obstruction in his colon. It came against Los Angeles in the final two weeks of the 2012 season and would have been the most dramatic moment in the pennant race had Josh Hamilton not dropped a pop fly in Oakland on the final day.

9. Because he was known to occasionally homer while dropping to one knee to stick with a curveball. It became the trademark symbol on his bat, a silhouetted figured swinging from one knee.

Twisting to his knee on the follow through, Texas Rangers batter Adrian Beltre homered to left in the sixth inning during Game 5 of the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington on Monday, Oct. 24, 2011. (Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News) (Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)

10. Because he was also a doubles machine. His 239 doubles are ninth most in Rangers history, but also gave him 636 for his career, 11th most all-time. Two spots ahead of Henry Aaron. No big deal.

11. Because he played half a season with no ligament in his left thumb. In 2015, he rested the ligament for three weeks, put off surgery until the end of the year and hit .303/.357/.479/.836 to lead the Rangers to an inspiring run to the AL West title.

12. Because he played with a high ankle sprain. In 2017, after missing two months with a hamstring injury, he came back in late May, then promptly suffered a high ankle sprain, an injury that usually keeps guys out three or four weeks. He refused the DL, took three days off and then returned.

13. Because he played through a number of other injuries that apparently never became public knowledge.

14. Because he always "seemed" to play even better when hurt.

15. And because he did all this while playing without an athletic cup.

16. Because he always seemed to have immense fun while playing the game, but still was able to lock down his approach on split-second notice.

Texas Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre (left) and shortstop Elvis Andrus laugh as they take the field for a spring training workout at the team's training facility on Monday, Feb. 19, 2018, in Surprise, Ariz. (Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News) (Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)

17. Because he'd dance at the plate often when taking a pitch. It was iconic enough to inspire the Rangers to create a "bobble-leg" figure that featured jiggly legs instead of a jiggly head.

18. Because he would playfully shoo Elvis Andrus away from pop flies with a scowl, and if necessary, a bit of a slap.

19. Because he could get the message across to Rougned Odor with a scowl, too.

20. Because he made head-touching the most cherished of compliments in Rangers history.

21. Because he created the most GIF-worthy moment in Rangers history by moving the on-deck circle to him when umpire Gerry Davis ordered him to stand on the on-deck circle. Davis immediately ejected Beltre, but the video lives on forever.

22. Because of the epic trash-talking wars with his close friend and former teammate Felix Hernandez every time the Rangers and Mariners met. But give Hernandez his due. He won most of the actual battles on the field, holding Beltre to a .230/.356/.344/.700 slash line when they faced either other.

23. Because he once wore green suspenders to go with a green cap for St. Patrick's Day. And he once donned a clubhouse guy's uniform and shined and played the part while on the DL.

New look for Beltre pic.twitter.com/N4rrV7OiY4 — Evan Grant (@Evan_P_Grant) March 17, 2018

24. Because he participated in rookie dress-up day on the last road trip of his career.

25. Because he made the Rangers' initial five-year, $80 million investment in him an eventual eight-year commitment that turned out to be the best free agency signing in Rangers history.

26. Because he decided to turn down trade deadline deals in 2018 to stay with the Rangers, where he felt he belonged, even though it may have cost him a chance to win that elusive World Series.

Texas Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre (29) fields a sacrifice bunt by Milwaukee Brewers third baseman Yadiel Rivera (29) and throws to first in the third inning during the Milwaukee Brewers vs. the Texas Rangers major league baseball game at Globe Life Park in Arlington on Monday, September 26, 2016. (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News) (Louis DeLuca / Staff Photographer)

27. Because nobody charged a grounder and threw on the run quite like he did.

28. Because he opted to close out his career without extended fanfare. He hugged his teammates one by one on the field, then announced his retirement without a farewell season. He announced his retirement by press release and when he finally did face questions, he turned it into a laugh fest rather than a tear-jerker.

29. And because he put the joy in baseball.

Twitter: @Evan_P_Grant