First Ballot: David Ortiz Elected Into Baseball Hall Of Fame
BOSTON (CBS) -- David Ortiz is best known for his big swings for the Boston Red Sox. Big Papi needed only one swing to get into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Ortiz received his call to Cooperstown on Tuesday night, letting him know that he's the only member of the Hall of Fame class of 2022. Ortiz will be enshrined in Cooperstown on Sunday, July 24, in a ceremony on the grounds of the Clark Sports Center.
Ortiz received 77.9 percent of the votes in his first year of eligibility. He is now just the 58th first-ballot Hall of Famer overall and just the fifth Red Sox player to receive that honor, joining Pedro Martinez (class of 2015), Wade Boggs (2005), Carl Yastrzemski (1989) and Ted Williams (1966).
Ortiz was in the Dominican Republic (with family and friends, including Pedro Martinez) when he got the news Tuesday night, and released the following statement via the Red Sox:
"I am truly honored and blessed by my selection to 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. I am also grateful to my teammates, my managers and coaches and Red Sox ownership for their faith in me and allowing me to be part of three World Championships.
"For a young boy from Santo Domingo, I always dreamed of playing professional baseball. Thanks to the encouragement of my father, Leo, and my mother, Angela Rosa, I knew from my earliest days at Estudia Espaillat High School in the Dominican Republic that I had the opportunity to pursue my dream of playing in the big leagues. And while my path to success was not straightforward, it was my friend, the Hall of Famer, Pedro Martinez, who convinced the Red Sox to give me a chance to achieve success. And while my path to Boston took 10 years, those 14 years in a Red Sox uniform were the best of my life. We broke the curse and then got two more championships before I retired in 2016—what a sweet and beautiful journey it has been.
"I am so thankful to my family and my children for being with me tonight on this special recognition. And I know my mother is throwing me kisses from heaven just like I always threw her a kiss after every home run."
The Red Sox legend certainly belongs in Cooperstown with the other greats of the game. After being cast off by the Minnesota Twins, Ortiz went on to become a three-time World Series champ with Boston, taking some of the biggest -- and most important -- swings in Red Sox history. He mashed 541 regular season homers throughout his career, 483 of which came during his 14 seasons in Boston, and he set a new Red Sox single-season record with 54 homers in 2006.
Ortiz's biggest swings came in the playoffs, which had Red Sox ownership calling him "the greatest clutch hitter in Red Sox history." And that was before he had all three of his rings.
Ortiz arrived in Boston in 2003, and though he had to wait until midseason to become a fixture -- and a force -- in the Red Sox lineup, he never stopped mashing once he started. He hit 31 homers in just 128 games in his first season with the Red Sox, and followed that up with 41 home runs and 139 RBIs in 2004.
It was during Boston's 2004 World Series run that Ortiz became a folk legend in Boston. He put the team on his back in the ALCS against the Yankees, clubbing back-to-back walk-off hits in Games 4 and 5 as the team faced elimination. That was just the start of Ortiz's postseason heroics.
Ortiz earned ALCS MVP honors as he hit .387 with three homers and 11 RBIs against the Yankees, helping Boston erase a 3-0 series deficit to stun New York and the baseball world. A week later, Ortiz and the Red Sox were World Series champions after a four-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals, ending an 86-year championship draught for Boston baseball.
Ortiz and the Red Sox were champs again in 2007, and though he didn't have any signature moments during that postseason, he hit .370 with three homers and 10 RBIs over 14 playoff games. He was a stud throughout the regular season as the Red Sox won 96 games to claim the AL East, with Ortiz slashing .332/.445/.621 with 35 homers, a career-high 52 doubles and 117 RBIs. Ortiz finished fourth in MVP voting, the fifth straight season that he finished in the Top 5.
Ortiz's final World Series run in 2013 was his best. While he hit just .091 against the Detroit Tigers in the ALCS, his game-tying grand slam in Game 2 into the Boston bullpen is what sparked the Red Sox to win the series. He went on to hit a ridiculous .688 with two homers, two doubles and six RBIs in Boston's six-game series win over the St. Louis Cardinals in the Fall Classic, earning series MVP honors and his third World Series ring.
While he was a massive figure on the diamond, Ortiz was an even bigger personality off it. It was during the 2013 season that Ortiz delivered his passionate "This is our [bleeping] city" speech following the Boston Marathon bombing, a moment that helped the city heal following the tragic events of April 15, 2013. He has done countless charitable endeavors for children in Boston and his native Dominican Republic through his foundation, the David Ortiz Children's Foundation.
Ortiz is one of the most beloved players to ever wear a Red Sox uniform, and he will forever be a part of Boston. Not only did the Red Sox retire his No. 34 in 2017, but the city also renamed the Yawkey Way Extension outside of Fenway Park to David Ortiz Drive.
And now Ortiz will soon have his own plaque in Cooperstown among the rest of the greats of the game.