*Photo from WMUR*
This year's baseball hall of fame ballot had some very interesting and controversial cases around it, but in the end, only one man on the ballot is headed to Cooperstown. Legendary Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz has earned an induction into the baseball hall of fame in the class of 2022, as announced Tuesday night.
Ortiz is the only player on the 30 man ballot for the class of 2022 to be inducted, receiving 77.9 % of the vote on his first year on the ballot, after his last season in 2016. Despite being the only player elected on the ballot, Ortiz will be inducted along with Gil Hodges, Minnie Minoso, Jim Kaat, Bud Fowler, Tony Oliva, and Buck O'Neil as hall of famers, as they were selected by committees earlier in the winter.
In a statement, Ortiz said that "I am truly honored and blessed by my induction into the Hall of Fame, the highest honor that any baseball player can reach in their lifetime. I am grateful to the baseball writers who considered my career in its totality, not just on the statistics, but also on my contributions to the Red Sox, the city of Boston, and all of Red Sox nation."
Ortiz was a prolific hitter for the majority of his 20 year MLB career, capped off with an induction to Cooperstown. Ortiz finished his career with a .286 batting average and .931 OPS, with 541 home runs and 1,768 RBI's in 2,408 regular season games, split between the Red Sox and Minnesota Twins. He still was incredible in his last season in 2016, hitting .315 with a 1.021 OPS, with 38 home runs and 127 RBI's in 151 games.
His excellence didn't stop in the regular season. In the playoffs, Ortiz had a knack for coming up with big hits in big moments. From two straight walk off hits in the 2004 ALCS to a game tying grand slam in the 2013 ALCS, to literally being avoided by St.Louis Cardinals pitching in the 2013 world series because they didn't want to face him, Ortiz did it all in the playoffs as well.
Red Sox principal owner John Henry said in a statement that "There are countless reasons why David is deserving of this honor, beginning with three World Series trophies that we would not have without his heroics on the field and his leadership. He was critical in transforming the narrative around the Red Sox from one of curses and superstitions to tales of clutch moments and a collection of championships. David's most meaningful and profound contributions, however, are not fully reflected in trophies and awards, but rather on the faces of every player held in David's bear-hug embrace over the years, by our memories of stirring dugout rally speeches, and with his fist raised in solidarity with our community during its darkest hour."
What Henry is referring to is the speech Ortiz gave to the crowd at Fenway Park in 2013, before the first home game played in Boston since the tragic Boston Marathon bombing on April 15. That speech helped kickstart an incredible run by the Red Sox, winning the 2013 world series around a city that was healing from a tragic story.
Red Sox chairman Tom Werner said in a statement that "It has been a privilege to watch David's storybook career in Boston for 14 years and three World Series Championships. This honor only confirms what many of us at the Red Sox and throughout New England already knew: that he is not only one of our greatest players, but one of baseball's greatest players."
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