David 'Big Papi' Ortiz inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame

By Jake Seiner

David Ortiz looked at his phone, his pursed lips revealing nerves rarely seen in one of baseball's great hitters.

Pedro Martínez's hand rested on Ortiz's shoulder, and Martínez smiled when the good news arrived.

The former teammates embraced and Martinez welcomed Ortiz to a rare place in baseball history.

Big Papi

is headed to Cooperstown, and he did it on the first ballot.

Ortiz was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on his first try Tuesday, while stars who have been indicted for steroid use Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens were denied entry in their final years under consideration by the Writers Association. United States Baseball.

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Ortiz, a 10-time All-Star over 20 seasons primarily with the Boston Red Sox, was named on 77.9% of the ballots, surpassing the 75% threshold needed for enshrinement.

He is the 58th player included in his first time under consideration.

“Man, it's a wonderful honor to be able to get into my first rodeo,” Ortiz said.

Big Papi

was among the most recognizable faces in baseball during the 2000s and 2010s. His huge smile endeared him to fans, but his hulking physique could intimidate pitchers, especially in late innings.

Three of his career game-ending 23 hits came during Boston's drought-breaking 2004 postseason, when the Red Sox thwarted their rival Yankees and went on to win their first World Series in 86 years.

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He is the fourth member of the Hall of Fame born in the Dominican Republic, joining Juan Marichal, Martínez and Vladimir Guerrero.

“I can imagine how New England must feel about one of their babies being inducted into the Hall of Fame today,” Ortiz said.

"I'm not even going to tell you about the Dominican Republic."

The left-handed hitter was signed by Seattle as a teenager and traded to Minnesota as a minor leaguer.

He made his major league debut with the Twins in 1997, but he didn't look like a future Hall of Famer there.

He was released in 2002, signed a free agent contract with Boston, and hit 31 home runs the next season.

David Ortiz, center, celebrates after being elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

He is accompanied by his father Leo Ortiz (left), fellow Hall of Famer Pedro Martínez (second left) and agent Fernando Cuza, on Tuesday, January 25, 2022, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.Manolito Jimenez/AP

Ortiz said he joined the Red Sox to learn what made stars like Martinez, Manny Ramirez and Nomar Garciaparra great.

Martinez helped pave the way, encouraging first-year general manager Theo Epstein to sign the 6-foot-3 slugger.

“Once I figured it out, it was sung,” Ortiz said.

"That team was surrounded by so many superstars, and I went in there like a sponge ready to learn."

Martínez became a mentor to his compatriot.

Now, they share the honor of being chosen as members on the first ballot.

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“I feel very proud to have been your teammate, to have been your brother, to have been someone there for you when you needed me,” Martinez said.

"I'm so glad to have you in my life."

"Well deserved," he added.

"Welcome to Cooperstown."

Ortiz hit .286 with 541 home runs with Boston and Minnesota while making 88% of his plate appearances as a designated hitter, the most of anyone in the Hall.

He outranks Edgar Martinez, who was the designated hitter in 71.7% of his plate appearances.

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Ortiz also has a history of using performance-enhancing drugs, but enough voters chose to ignore a positive test that occurred during poll testing in 2003 that was supposed to be anonymous.

Ortiz has denied using steroids, and Commissioner Rob Manfred said in 2016 that "I think it would be wrong" to exclude him from the Hall of Fame based on that one piece of evidence.

“I never failed a test, so what does that tell you?”

Ortiz said.

Ortiz will be enshrined in Cooperstown, New York, on July 24 along with committee picks Buck O'Neil, Minnie Minoso, Gil Hodges, Tony Oliva, Jim Kaat and Bud Fowler.

Bonds, Clemens and Curt Schilling were rejected in their tenth and final year on the BBWAA ticket.

Bonds is the league's career home run leader and Clemens won a record seven Cy Young Awards, but voters denied them the game's top honor over suspicions they used performance-enhancing drugs.

Bonds got 66% of the vote and Clemens got 65.2%.