In 1973 the American League began to use the designated hitter which eliminated pitchers from having to hit. In the process the designated hitter role has prolonged the Major League Baseball careers of some great hitters that were unable to play in the field anymore on a daily basis such as Frank Thomas and Paul Molitor. Molitor was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2004 while Thomas will join him in Cooperstown this summer. But there has never been a player that has been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame solely for being a designated hitter. That will change once Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz ends his MLB playing career.
Ortiz’s Major League Baseball journey began in 1992 when the Seattle Mariners signed him as an 18-year old amateur free agent out of his native Dominican Republic. Ortiz was in the Mariners organization for four years until he was traded to the Minnesota Twins. With the Twins, Ortiz spent time at first base while also being the team’s designated hitter. But injuries and inconsistency at the plate led to the Twins releasing him in 2002. The Red Sox signed Ortiz off of the scrap heaps in 2003 and he has not looked back since.
In Ortiz’s first season with the Red Sox he was the team’s designated hitter and he had career highs in home runs (31), and runs batted in (101). Ortiz finished 2003 fifth in the American League’s MVP voting as he helped the Red Sox get to the American League Championship Series and thus the legend of “Big Papi” was born.
The following season Ortiz hit .301 with 41 home runs and 139 runs batted in as he helped the Red Sox win their first World Series Championship in 86 years.
In 2005 Ortiz batted .300 with 47 homers and 148 runs batted in. Ortiz finished second in the AL MVP voting to New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez due to the fact that Rodriguez played the field as well as hitting.
For his career Ortiz is a nine-time American League All-Star, but he has also more home runs (394), runs batted in (1,278), and hits (1,813) than any other designated hitter in Major League Baseball history.
Ortiz is also one of the biggest clutch hitters that the game of baseball has even seen. In the 2004 American League Division Series, Ortiz had the series clinching hit off of Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Jarrod Washburn. In the 2004 American League Championship Series, the Red Sox lost the first three games of the series to the Yankees. In the 12th inning of Game 4, Ortiz hit the game-winning, two-run, walk-off homer that gave the Red Sox some life. The next day in Game 5 it was Ortiz once again as he had the game-winning, walk-off hit in the 14th innings the kept the Red Sox season alive. The Red Sox won Game 6 at Yankee Stadium to force a Game 7 and Ortiz once again came up big. In the first inning of Game 7, Ortiz cranked a two-run homer that got the Red Sox going as they would go on to win the American League Pennant. Ortiz’s heroics would lead to him being named ALCS MVP. In Game 1 of the 2004 World Series, Ortiz hit a three-run home run off of St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Woody Williams. The Red Sox never looked backed as they swept the Cardinals 4-0 to win the World Series. For the 2004 postseason Ortiz batted .409 with 5 home runs and 23 runs batted in.
Last year at the age of 37, Ortiz put the Red Sox on his back as he helped the team win their third World Series Championship in 10 years. In the regular season Ortiz had a batting average of .309 to go along with 30 home runs and 103 runs batted in, but once again he saved his best performance for October.
Late in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series with the Red Sox staring at an 0-2 hole, Ortiz stepped to the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning and on the first pitch of the at-bat he hit a game-tying grand slam off of Detroit Tigers relief pitcher Joaquin Benoit. The Red Sox would go on to win the game and they took the series from the Tigers in six games. Last fall the Red Sox once again met the Cardinals in the World Series. With the Red Sox trailing the Cards 2-1 in the series, Ortiz got his teammates together in the dugout during Game 4 and gave an emphatic speech that rallied the troops. The Red Sox would win the next three games of the series and thus they earned their eighth overall World Series Championship. For the 2013 Fall Classic, Ortiz would hit .688 with 2 home runs and 6 runs batted in as he was named the World Series MVP.
This season for the Red Sox, Ortiz is batting .251 with a .356 on-base percentage to go along with 14 home runs and 38 runs batted in. A few weeks ago the Red Sox were mired in a 10-game losing streak. Then on Memorial Day with the Red Sox looking at their 11th straight loss, Ortiz launched a three-run home run that put them ahead against the Atlanta Braves which sparked a seven-game winning streak. This past Sunday night the Red Sox were looking at their sixth straight loss when Ortiz stepped to the plate with two runners on base in the top of the ninth. Ortiz saw a 1-1 slider from Tigers relief pitcher Joba Chamberlain that was extremely appetizing and the slugger boomed it well over the right field fence at Comerica Park in Detroit to put the BoSox up 5-3 and they would go on to win by that score.
For his 18-year MLB career Ortiz has 445 home runs along with 1,467 runs batted in. The only other player to spend the majority of his Major League Baseball career solely as a designated hitter was former Seattle Mariners designated hitter Edgar Martinez. For his 18-year MLB career Martinez was a seven-time American League All-Star, but he wasn’t the power threat that Ortiz is. Where Ortiz has hit 445 career homer runs, Martinez hit 309. Martinez retired in 2004 and he has been eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame since 2010, but he has not come close to receiving the 75 percent of the vote needed to get into Cooperstown. Unlike Martinez, Ortiz has played on three World Series Championship teams which could sway the voters for his entry into the hall. The Red Sox also play in a bigger media market than Martinez did in Seattle as all eyes are always on him.
The Baseball Writers of America have always been known to be “extremely picky” when it comes to voting for players to get into Cooperstown as they have historically frowned upon designated hitters for not playing the field. But with expanded Interleague play during the regular season, Ortiz has played more games at first base and he has more than held his own defensively. The Red Sox have needed Ortiz’s bat in the lineup during Interleague games so badly that they would put him at first base while shifting former Red Sox first baseman Adrian Gonzalez to right field.
The Baseball Hall of Fame is a place that honors the irreplaceable contributions to the game by people. The Red Sox would not have won three World Series Titles since 2004 without Ortiz and he has also been one of the best clutch hitters that the game of baseball has ever seen. To me that sounds like the resume fitting of a Baseball Hall of Famer.
Source: Baseball-reference.com
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