Baseball Icon David Ortiz Becomes First Ballot Hall Of Fame
Big Papi is officially headed to Cooperstown.
On Tuesday evening, former Boston Red Sox first baseman and designated hitter David Ortiz was voted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
Ortiz played Major League Baseball for 20 years, hitting 541 homeruns in the process. This puts him in elite company as one of only 27 other players in MLB history to achieve this feat. 17 of those home runs came during his nine trips to the postseason.
He finished eighth all-time in Major League history in extra base hits (1,192) He also sported a career 55.3 WAR, nearly 2,500 base hits and 1,768 RBI.
The 10-time All Star and three-time World Series Champion was on the historic 2004 roster that broke the “Curse of the Great Bambino.” Of course, that team was also managed by current Cleveland Guardians' manager Terry Francona, who had a lot of respect for his former player. Francona recognized Ortiz as not only an MLB great, but as a baseball icon while referring to him as a “very special person, not to just to me, to a lot of people.’’
It sure seems like Francona isn't alone in feeling that way, considering Ortiz received 77.9 percent of the votes and is being inducted on his first year on the ballot.
Ortiz may be best known for his role as the Boston Red Sox’s go to power hitter for over a decade, but he also spent six seasons at the beginning of his career in the same division as Cleveland while on the Minnesota Twins. While only being in the same division for six seasons, this would not be the last time that Cleveland and the future Hall of Famer would cross paths. As a member of both the Red Sox and Twins, Ortiz hit a total of 27 home runs against Cleveland while putting up a .277 batting average.
Big Papi’s career ended after the then Cleveland Indians defeated the Boston Red Sox in game three of the 2016 ALDS on Cleveland’s path to their first World Series appearance since 1997.
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