David Ortiz was elected to Cooperstown, but the doors to the Baseball Hall of Fame remained closed for Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens.
Ortiz was elected on his first ballot.
Bonds and Clemens, tarnished by steroids, were in their final year on the list coming from the Baseball Writers of America (BBWAA).
Ortiz, a big-time hitter and 10 all-star team member in 20 seasons, mostly with Boston, was named on 77.9 percent of the ballots cast Tuesday night.
He thus obtained the threshold of 75% necessary for his entry into the Temple.
In Cooperstown, he will be the fourth player who has mostly been a pick hitter.
“Big Papi” was one of baseball’s most recognizable faces in the 2000s and 2010s. His enormous smile charmed fans, but in the batting circle, the hulking Dominican sent shivers down the spine of pitchers — often in the final sleeves.
He had 23 game-winning hits, including three in the 2004 playoffs, capped by the Red Sox’ World Series triumph. It ended an 86-year drought for the Red Bottoms.
Ortiz hit for .286 and slammed 541 homers, with Boston and the Minnesota Twins.
Overall, 88% of his at-bats have been as a designated hitter, more than anyone with a plate in Cooperstown.
Edgar Martinez had this role in 71.7% of his appearances. Frank Thomas and Harold Baines are the only other members of the Hall of Fame to have acted as the pick hitter more than half the time.
Ortiz is the fourth elected from the Dominican Republic, after Juan Marichal, Pedro Martinez and Vladimir Guerrero.
Enough voters have overlooked the fact that he tested positive for a banned substance in 2003, a test that was supposed to be anonymous.
Ortiz has denied using steroids, and commissioner Rob Manfred said in 2016 that he would see it as a mistake to exclude Ortiz in connection with the case.
Ortiz also helped Boston win the World Series in 2007 and 2013.
In retirement, he remained in public view as an analyst for Fox during the series. In 2019, he was ambushed and shot in the Dominican Republic. He needed three operations; doctors removed his gallbladder, along with parts of his intestines and colon. He returned to the air during the playoffs, four months after the incident.
Ortiz will be inducted in Cooperstown on July 24, along with Buck O’Neil, Minnie Miñoso, Gil Hodges, Tony Oliva, Jim Kaat and Bud Fowler.
Bonds, Clemens and Curt Schilling were rejected at their 10e and final year in the BBWAA ballot.
Bonds is the all-time home run leader. Clemens set a record by winning the Cy Young seven times.
Voters denied them the Temple accolade due to suspicions of drug use. Bonds obtained 66% of the vote and Clemens 65.2%.
Schilling’s popularity has fallen sharply, particularly in connection with his damaging remarks towards Muslims, trans people and journalists.
Schilling asked the Temple to remove him from the vote, but he remained an option. He was named on 58.6% of ballots, up from 71.1% last year.
Special Committee
The cases of Bonds, Clemens and Schilling will be re-examined by a committee in Cooperstown. Comprised of 16 Hall of Fame members, executives and media veterans, this group will meet in December to review players who played between 1988 and 2016 who are no longer eligible for BBWAA selection.
Of the other debutants on the ballot, Alex Rodriguez and Jimmy Rollins got the most support.
Rodriguez has hit 696 home runs, but his track record is tarnished by banned products. He was banned by Major League Baseball for the entire 2014 season for violating Major League Baseball’s drug policy.
Next year’s ballot could have a new element of controversy, when Carlos Beltrán joins the ballot.
A member of nine all-star teams, he was punished by the big leagues in 2020 and fired as Mets manager for his role in the signal theft case involving the Houston Astros.
Beltrán will likely be joined on the ballot by John Lackey, Jered Weaver, Jacoby Ellsbury and Jayson Werth.
