Former Boston Red Sox David Ortiz was inducted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility on Tuesday. Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling were ignored for one last time.
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Ortiz thus becomes only the 58e player in major league history to receive this honor on his first attempt.
“I am truly honored and blessed to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, the highest honor a baseball player can achieve in their career,” Ortiz said in a Red Sox statement.
“Big Papi” received 307 votes from the Major League Baseball Journalists Association, or 77.9%. At least 75% of voters must support a player’s cause for that player to set foot in Cooperstown.
The Dominican is the only one who will enter through this process in 2022. He will be joined by Jim Kaat, Tony Oliva, the late Bud Fowler, the late Gil Hodges, the late Minnie Miñoso and the late Buck O’Neil, who were however selected by two other Major League Baseball committees. The induction ceremony is scheduled for July in Cooperstown.
A real designated hitter
Ortiz was recognized entirely for his offensive exploits, having served as the designated hitter in 84.2% of the 2,408 games in which he appeared during his career.
He batted .286 and finished among the all-time best in several offensive categories, including home runs (541; 17e), RBIs (1768; 23e) and walks (1319; 41e). Ortiz has also had several other offensive exploits, including winning seven silver sticks, playing in 10 all-star games and having as many seasons of 100 or more RBIs.
However, it was for his performances in the playoffs that he was even more recognized as a great player in major league baseball and in the history of the Red Sox. In 2004, he was an important player in the Massachusetts team’s World Series victory, their first triumph since 1918. In the championship series, against the Yankees, Ortiz had been particularly effective, allowing his team to take the honors games 4 and 5 thanks to game-ending productive hits.
He also won the World Series again in 2007 and again in 2013.
“As a young boy from Santo Domingo, I always dreamed of playing baseball professionally,” added Ortiz. Thanks to the encouragement of my father, Leo, and my mother, Angela Rosa, I knew from the first moments that I would have a chance to pursue my dream of playing in the major leagues. Although my path to get there was not a straight line, it was my friend and Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez who convinced the Red Sox to give me a shot at success. Although my path to Boston took 10 years, the 14 in a Red Sox uniform were the best of my life. We broke the curse and won two more championships before I retired in 2016. What a great journey it has been.”
Discarded for good… or not
While David Ortiz feasted, Barry Bonds (66%), Roger Clemens (65.2%) and Curt Schilling (58.6%) had to face the facts.
The three men did not obtain 75% of the votes of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) in their 10th year of eligibility and will no longer be able to enter the Hall of Fame by this traditional route.
“Hi everyone! Thought I’d give you a statement since it’s that time of year again, Clemens tweeted. My family and I put the Temple behind us 10 years ago. I didn’t play baseball to get into the Temple. I played to make a generational difference in the lives of my family.”
Bonds and Clemens have been implicated in doping stories in one way or another, while Schilling has angered many with a large collection of Nazi artifacts, Islamophobic rhetoric and a stance on favor of the assault on the Capitol.
The hopes of the three former stars are not completely extinguished, however. Indeed, the Veterans Committee, made up of 16 voters, re-evaluates certain files over the years. Former Montreal Expos pitcher Lee Smith was notably honored in this way in 2018.
The committee must also meet in December to take a look at the forgotten candidates who played between 1988 and 2016.
Bonds is the all-time leader for homers with 762. Clemens, for his part, has won no less than seven Cy-Young trophies. Ultimately, Schiling won three World Series with three different teams, appearing in four All-Star Games.
Among the candidates who will be eligible for the first time in 2023, Carlos Beltrán is quite possibly the one with the best chance of being elected. His possible involvement in the signal theft scandal in 2017 – his last career season – could, however, harm him.
As for him, the Canadian Justin Morneau, who received only five votes, will no longer appear on the ballots.
The other inductees
Six members other than David Ortiz will be inducted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in 2022 through selections from two committees.
Jim Kaat, 1959-1983
In 25 seasons in major league baseball, the pitcher who played for the Washington Senators, Minnesota Twins, Chicago White Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals has preserved a 283-237 record and a 3.45 ERA. He also appeared in three All-Star Games, in addition to winning 16 Gold Gloves.
Tony Olive, 1962-1976
Oliva spent all of his 15 seasons in major league baseball with the Twins organization, where he won a Gold Glove and Rookie of the Year honors in 1964, in addition to take part in eight all-star games. He hit 1,917 hits and drove in 947 runs in 1,676 games.
Bud Fowler, 1878-1895
Fowler played his entire career before the start of the 20e century. He left his mark on the baseball world as the first black player to play professionally. He played in several different leagues.
Gil Hodges, 1943-1963
Hodges saw his career of 18 campaigns interrupted by a two-year military service during the Second World War. He played for the Brooklyn Dodgers, who later moved to Los Angeles, as well as the New York Mets. Hodges hit 370 total homers, including five straight 30-plus seasons. He also had 1,274 RBIs, including seven straight 100-plus RBI seasons.
Minnie Minoso, 1946-1980
Minnie Minoso played continuously from 1946 to 1949, then from 1951 to 1964. The Cuban attempted a brief first major league comeback in 1976, at the age of 50, then a second, four years later, at 54, becoming the third player in history to hit a hit after crossing his 50s. He also got his hands on three Golden Gloves.
Buck O’Neil, 1937-1948
O’Neil made his mark in the baseball world primarily in the Negro League as a player. He was also a major league baseball coach.
Results
- David Ortiz: 307 votes, 77,9 %
- Barry Bonds: 260 votes, 66% (last year)
- Roger Clemens: 257 votes, 65.2% (last year)
- Scott Rolen: 249 votes, 63,2 %
- Curt Schilling: 231 votes, 58.6% (last year)
- Todd Helton: 205 votes, 52,0 %
- Billy Wagner: 201 votes, 51,0 %
- Andruw Jones: 163 votes, 41,1 %
- Gary Sheffield: 160 votes, 40,6 %
- Alex Rodriguez: 135 votes, 34,3 %
- Jeff Kent: 129 votes, 32,7 %
- Manny Ramirez: 114 votes, 28,9 %
- Omar Vizquel: 94 votes, 23,9 %
- Sammy Sosa: 73 votes, 18.5% (last year)
- Andy Pettitte: 42 votes, 10,7 %
- Jimmy Rollins: 37 votes, 9,4 %
- Bobby Abreu: 34 votes, 8,6 %
- Mark Buehrle: 23 votes, 5,8 %
- Torii Hunter: 21 votes, 5,3 %
- Joe Nathan: 17 votes, 4,3 %
- Tim Hudson: 12 votes, 3,0 %
- Tim Lincecum: 9 votes, 2,3 %
- Ryan Howard: 8 votes, 2,0 %
- Mark Teixeira: 6 votes, 1,5 %
- Justin Morneau: 5 votes, 1.3%
- Jonathan Papelbon: 5 votes, 1,3 %
- Prince Fielder: 2 votes, 0,5 %
- A.J. Pierzynski: 2 votes, 0,5 %
- Carl Crawford: 0 vote, 0 %
- Jake Peavy: 0 vote, 0 %
