Make Room, “Big Papi” Ortiz Is Coming To Cooperstown

Former Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz became a first-ballot hall-of-famer Tuesday, garnering 307 votes out of a possible 394 (77.9%) from the Baseball Writers Association of America (BWAA). A minimum of 75% is needed to secure enshrinement into Cooperstown. 

“Big Papi,” as he is more commonly known, earned legend status in the city of Boston after helping the Red Sox overcome a 3-0 series deficit to the Yankees in the 2004 ALCS and leading the team to its first World Series championship in 86 years. 

“I was the type of player that I know I’ve got the talent, but all I was looking for was the opportunity to be an everyday player,” Ortiz told mlb.com. “Thank God at some point it came true, once I got to the Red Sox, and the rest is history. I feel so thankful and grateful for being able to accomplish what I was able to accomplish and, thank God, have the career I have.”

The ten-time All-Star would go on to win three World Series titles (2004, 2007, 2013), a World Series MVP (2013), seven Silver Slugger awards (2004-07, 2011, 2013, 2016), and the 2010 home run derby, among a slew of other achievements. He also holds the Red Sox single-season home run record, clubbing 54 dingers in 2006.

Born in 1975 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Ortiz was signed by the Seattle Mariners in 1992, and made his major league debut for the Minnesota Twins in 1997. After being released by the Twins in 2003, he signed with Boston, where he blossomed into a bona fide superstar. That season, he batted .288, with 31 HR and 101 RBI, helping the Red Sox reach the postseason and firmly entrenching himself as the team’s designated hitter, a position he wouldn’t relinquish until his retirement in 2016.

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Over the course of his career, Big Papi accumulated 2472 hits, 541 HR, 1768 RBI, a .286 AVG, and a .380 OBP.

Ortiz’s career, while deservedly celebrated, was not without controversy. The New York Times broke the story in 2009 that 104 players had tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs during an MLB screening in 2003 conducted in order to determine how widespread steroid use was in the sport. The results, which were detailed in the now infamous Mitchell Report, were supposed to remain confidential. Ortiz’s name was leaked alongside other prominent ballplayers,  including Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez, and Sammy Sosa. Ortiz attributed his positive test to over the counter supplements.

“This thing came out, and it was like my word against theirs,” he told NPR in 2017. “It made me very angry. You don’t accuse people just like that, especially someone that is having the career that I was having plus the town that I was playing for and all that I had accomplished in my career.”

Perhaps as important as who got in, is who didn’t. Former Giants outfielder Barry Bonds and former Yankee and Red Sox pitcher Roger Clemens again failed to meet the 75% threshold for enshrinement, accumulating 66% and 65.2% of the vote, respectively. 2022 was their last year of eligibility, and their chances of getting a plaque in Cooperstown now lie with a veterans committee. Clemens and Bonds, of course, have long been suspected of using performance-enhancing drugs, although they never yielded a positive test.