David Ortiz
Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz joined a very elite club last week when he became the 27th player in Major League Baseball history to hit 500 career home runs. Ortiz accomplished the feat against the Tampa Bay Rays and even the fans at Tropicana Field in Tampa had to acknowledge what they were witnessing when the baseball that he hit cleared the fence in right-center field. And the home run by Ortiz should also should also solidify his place in the Baseball Hall of Fame as one of the game’s greatest hitters.
Ortiz’s journey has been a long one as he was signed by the Seattle Mariners out of his native Dominican Republic way back in 1992. Ortiz was in the Mariners minor-league system until he was traded to the Minnesota Twins in 1996. Ortiz would make his Major League Baseball debut in 1997 with the Twins and by 2002, he was showing signs of being a power hitter as he hit 20 home runs with 75 runs batted in that year. And the best was yet to come for Ortiz who would sign with the Red Sox after that year as a free agent.
With the Red Sox in 2003, Ortiz would become a household name as he belted 31 home runs and 101 runs batted in as he helped Boston reach the American League Championship Series. In 2004, the Red Sox would reverse the curse as they won their first World Series Championship since 1918 with Ortiz hitting 41 home runs while driving in 139 runs. But Ortiz would solidify his reputation that year in the postseason. Ortiz delivered the series-winning hit against the Los Angeles Angels in the American League Divisional Series. And with the Red Sox facing elimination in the ALCS, Ortiz would get the game-winning hits in the fourth and fifth games of the series. Ortiz would get the scoring started in Game 7 with two-run homer in the first inning as the Red Sox defeated the New York Yankees in seven games after losing the first three. In Game 1 of the 2004 World Series, Ortiz would hit a three-run home run in the first inning and the Red Sox would never look back as they swept the St. Louis Cardinals. Ortiz would go on to help the Red Sox win two more World Series Titles as he became one of the best power hitters of this era, but 2013 was a year to remember for him.
After the Boston Marathon Bombing in 2013, the City of Boston needed a rallying cry which became the Red Sox and Ortiz was at the forefront as he spoke to the fans at Fenway Park that April following the tragedy. The Red Sox rallied around the moniker of “Boston Strong” to earn the best record in the American League that year. And in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series, the Red Sox found themselves down four runs heading into the bottom of the eighth against the Detroit Tigers. Ortiz stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and calmly blasted the first offering from Tigers relief pitcher Joaquin Benoit into the Red Sox bullpen to tie the game. The Red Sox would win the game and they now had the momentum to win the series. In the World Series, Ortiz would rally the troops and lead by example. With the Red Sox trailing the Cardinals 2-1 in the World Series, Ortiz called a huddle in the Red Sox dugout during Game 4 to which everyone wearing a Boston uniform listened. Ortiz backed up his talk as he put the Red Sox on his back during the Fall Classic by batting .688 with 2 home runs and 6 runs batted to win the World Series MVP and further solidify himself as “Senor Octubre”.
Ortiz or as he is affectionately known as “Big Papi” has set the gold standard for designated hitters as he has more home runs (444), runs batted in (1,429) and hits (2,009) that any other DH in Major League Baseball history. Ortiz almost won the American League MVP in 2005 as he finished second to Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees and lost out on the award primarily because he doesn’t play the field. But during inter league play, the Red Sox will play Ortiz at first base as they don’t want to lose his bat in the lineup and he has more than held his own there in the field. Ortiz has done all of this during and after the steroid era as he has claimed to have unknowingly taken performance-enhancing drugs which is something that writers could use to prevent him from getting into the Baseball Hall of Fame along with the fact that he is primarily a DH. But the Hall of Fame is a place that is reserved for the people that have made the biggest impact to the game of baseball and you cannot diminish what Ortiz has meant to the game as he is an ambassador and an all-around good guy. Ortiz is passionate about playing baseball and he also takes it for what it is; a kid’s game as he has simply made child’s play out of the designated hitter position.
Source: Baseball-reference.com
Leave A Comment