Ortiz Belts 500th Career Home Run
BOSTON (CBS) -- David Ortiz is now a member of the 500 home run club.
The Red Sox slugger became just the 27th member of baseball's illustrious group, smacking a home run over the right-field wall off Tampa Bay Rays starter Matt Moore in the top of the fifth inning of Saturday night's game in Tampa Bay.
Of his 500 homers, 442 have come as a member of the Boston Red Sox. He hit his first career homer with the Red Sox back on April 28, 2003 as a pinch-hitter in the 14th inning of a 6-4 Boston win in Anaheim. He would go on to blast 31 homers in just 128 games that season.
What followed was three-straight seasons of 40-plus homers for Ortiz and the Red Sox. He set a Boston single season record with 54 home runs in 2006.
Some of his most important homers don't even count towards his 500 though, as Ortiz has also hit 17 postseason home runs in his career. He hit five in each of the 2004 and 2013 playoffs for Boston.
Ortiz now has 34 homers on the season, his franchise-high ninth 30+ homer season in Boston. His 442 homers with the Red Sox rank third on the team's all-time homer list, trailing Ted Williams (521) and Carl Yastrzemski (452).
Mayor Marty Walsh took to Twitter to congratulate Ortiz on the achievement.
Ortiz's teammate, second baseman Dustin Pedroia, tweeted "It's Special to wear the same uniform as @davidortiz. I'm so proud of you! Enjoy it #500!"
Another of Ortiz's teammates, outfielder Hanley Ramirez, tweeted "Congratulations Papi, #500 you're the man, you're my hero and my big brother, you deserve it all #iSeeYou."
Former teammate and Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro Martinez also celebrated the designated hitter's milestone homer on Twitter.
After the Red Sox beat the Rays 10-4, Ortiz said "It's a number that's very hard to get. I've been competing and trying to get things done the right way through the years." He added that it's an honor to be among the legends who also eclipsed the 500-homer club.
