David Ortiz’ Greatest Postseason Hits

Seemingly in every October, former Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz takes on a high profile. Besides being a regular figure on postseason diamonds from 2003-16, the likely future Hall of Famer has been a fixture in recent years on the FOX Sports postseason pre-game and post-game coverage along with Frank Thomas and Alex Rodriguez.

On the field, Big Papi was not only the #1 contributor to the breaking of an 86-year-old championship drought (the Sox’s World Series title in ’04), he was an indispensable member of two more championship squads in 2007 and 2013.

Although famous Red Sox Hall of Famers like Carl Yastrzemski, Ted Williams, Wade Boggs, and Pedro Martinez had greater overall careers, only one of them (Pedro, once) ever tasted World Champion bubbly as a member of the Sox.

This is an appreciation for the memorable career of David Ortiz, a man with a big body, a big heart, and a penchant for the big hit, many of which you can re-live in the links below. If Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson was Mr. October, future Cooperstown inductee David Ortiz was Senor Octubre.

He’ll be on the BBWAA (Baseball Writers Association of America) ballot for enshrinement in the Hall of Fame the first time next month.

Cooperstown Cred: David Ortiz

• Twins (1997-2002), Red Sox (2003-16)
• Career: .286 BA, 541 HR, 1,768 RBI, 2,472 Hits
• Career: 141 OPS+, 55.3 WAR (Wins Above Replacement)
• 632 career doubles (12th most all-time)
• 1,192 career extra-base hits (8th most all-time, behind Aaron, Bonds, Musial, Ruth, Mays, Pujols, A. Rodriguez)
• Member of 2004, 2007 & 2013 World Champion Boston Red Sox
• 10-time All-Star
• 2004 ALCS MVP: .387 BA, 1.199 OPS, 3 HR, 11 RBI
• 2013 World Series MVP: .688 BA, .760 OBP, 1,188 SLG, 2 HR, 6 RBI

(cover photo: The Sporting News/AP)

This piece was originally posted in October 2018. It has been updated in anticipation of the 2022 Hall of Fame vote.

The Curse of the Bambino

Before 2004, in the previous year, the Boston Red Sox had won the World Series, Woodrow Wilson was president, the First World War was just concluding, the average home cost $4,821 to own, and gasoline was 8 cents per gallon.

The Red Sox won the 2018 World Series in 6 games over the Chicago Cubs thanks in part to two complete-game victories by a 23-year old starting pitcher named Babe Ruth. Yes, you read that correctly, the man who would become the Sultan of Swat for the Yankees was, until 1918, a pitcher (and a darned good one) for the Sox.

Just two years prior, the 21-year-old Ruth pitched one of the greatest games in the history of the World Series, a 14-inning complete game in which he yielded just one first-inning run in a 2-1 victory. So, in the span of 3 years, the young pitcher had been an integral part of two Championships for Beantown.

Seeing that the budding star had even more potential as a batsman, the Sox made Ruth a full-time outfielder in 1919 (on the days he didn’t pitch) and then, in what would begin a cruel 85-year Curse of the Bambino, Ruth was sold to the Yankees on the day after Christmas for $100,000.

Over its 85 years (86 years if you don’t count the 1919 season when Ruth was still in Boston), the Curse grew to mythical proportions. The Sox only made it to the World Series four times between 1919 to 2003; each time they lost in seven games.

That doesn’t count the near-misses, such as the 1978 season when the team blew a 10-game lead to the Bronx Bombers and then lost the division tie-breaker game thanks to Bucky Bleeping Dent. In that era, of course, it was “win your division or bust” and so, despite 99 wins, the Red Sox busted.

Prologue: 2003 ALCS (Red Sox v Yankees)

The way the 2003 season ended was uniquely cruel. The Red Sox (the AL Wild Card team) were playing in Yankee Stadium in Game 7. The Sox had a 5-2 lead entering the bottom of the 8th inning. It’s not well remembered in BoSox lore but Ortiz (in his first season with the Sox), clubbed an 8th inning solo home run off David Wells to extend the team’s lead from 4-2 to 5-2.

With future Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez on the hill, victory seemed certain. But the 170-pound Pedro was not a workhorse in the mold of a Randy Johnson or Roger Clemens. He was a 7 inning pitcher, a brilliant 7 inning pitcher but not someone you could count on to finish a full 9 innings. Many observers (including this one) were surprised when, at 100 pitches, he came out to pitch the 8th.

More surprising was that manager Grady Little left him in to get tagged with three doubles, a single, and a 3-run lead that evaporated. Three innings later Aaron Boone did his best Bucky Dent impersonation with a walk-off solo home run to send the Yankees to the Fall Classic and the Sox back home.

Act One: the 2004 Postseason

So now we arrive at 2004. The Red Sox won 98 games in the regular season but were the Wild Card team once again. The Sox finished 2nd in the AL East behind the 101-win Yankees.

David Ortiz brought Boston back to an ALCS rematch with the Yankees by clubbing an opposite-field walk-off home run to clinch Game 3 of the ALDS against the Angels.

In the ALCS, hopes were high in Beantown but the Yankees won the first three games of the 7-game series, winning Game 3 with a 19-8 humiliation at Fenway Park.

2004 ALCS (Yankees v Red Sox): Game 4

In Game 4, the Yankees had a 4-3 lead in the 9th with future Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera, the greatest postseason relief pitcher in history (by a country mile) on the mound to close it out. But a lead-off walk to Kevin Millar led to a stolen base by pinch-runner Dave Roberts. Subsequently, an RBI single up the middle by Bill Mueller tied the game at 4.

With nobody out and the tying run at 2nd, the Sox could have closed it out there. Rivera rarely gave up even one run but he had only given up two runs twice in 67 previous postseason efforts.

On this night Rivera got out of the jam, ironically by getting Ortiz to pop out with two outs and the bases loaded. The birth of a legend would have to wait for a few innings.

Fast forward to the 12th inning: the score was still tied at 4.  Journeyman pitcher Paul Quantrill was on the bump, with Rivera and set-up man Tom Gordon having already been used. Manny Ramirez, the team’s $160 million man, led off the frame with a single to left, bringing Big Papi to the dish.

After ball one, Big Papi drilled the 2nd offering deep into the right field seats for a walk-off 2-run home run, ending the five-hour game and prolonging the 2004 season for at least one more night. That blast, delivered 1:22 AM on the morning of October 18th, was the beginning of the October legend of David Ortiz.

In baseball history, in the 22 previous 3-games-to-0 situations (including both the World Series and LCS), on only three previous occasions had a team managed even to win Game 4. Two of those teams lost Game 5; only the 1999 New York Mets managed to win both Games 4 and 5 (against the Atlanta Braves) before succumbing in Game 6. So the mountain the Red Sox were trying to climb was still the unconquered Mount Everest of baseball.

2004 ALCS (Yankees v Red Sox): Game 5

In Game 5, the Sox were again up against it late in the game, trailing by two runs in the 8th. Ortiz led off the inning with another mostly forgotten tater, a solo home run over the Green Monster off Gordon to cut the lead to 4-3.

Next, Gordon, perhaps trying to emulate the great Rivera, allowed a walk to Millar. Roberts entered again as a pinch-runner and advanced to 3rd on a single by Trot Nixon. Yankees manager Joe Torre summoned Rivera to attempt a Houdini act, hoping to coax a six-out save with the tying run on 3rd but Jason Varitek managed a game-tying sacrifice fly.

Six innings went by without another run in a battle of the bullpens. In the bottom of the 14th, reliever Esteban Loaiza allowed a one-out walk to Johnny Damon followed by a two-out walk to Ramirez.

And then, for the second night in a row, Big Papi delivered the knockout blow with a walk-off RBI single up the middle and a 14-inning victory for Boston, setting up a trip to New York for Game 6. To do it once was amazing, to do it twice with a 24-hour span was, well, the stuff of a baseball fairy tale.

2004 ALCS (Red Sox v Yankees): Game 6 & 7

Game 6 in New York was the “bloody sock” game when starter Curt Schilling heroically took the mound on a bum ankle on which team doctor Bill Morgan had to suture a loose tendon back into the skin.

Schilling (who should be in the Hall of Fame for his many postseason heroics), tossed 7 innings of one-run ball in a 4-2 victory, making the Red Sox the first team to force a Game 7 after being down three games to none.

The Sox would win the 7th game easily, a 10-3 blowout started by, who else, David Ortiz, who hit a 2-run blast in a first inning to give Boston a lead they would not relinquish.

An Easy World Series Victory for David Ortiz and the 2004 Sox

Although the Curse of the Bambino was about a championship drought, not a drought of making it to the Fall Classic, there was something about the historic come-from-behind 4-3 series win against New York that felt like an exorcism.

In the World Series, the Sox rolled over the St. Louis Cardinals in a four-game sweep. In Game 1 it was, surprise, Ortiz who set the pace with a 3-run home run in the opening frame.

October has birthed many legends in the history of baseball, many championships are delivered by a “hero of the year.” In 2014 it was Madison Bumgarner; in 2011 it was David Freese; think Schilling and Randy Johnson in 2001, Derek Jeter in 2000, Joe Carter in 1993, Jack Morris in 1991, Kirk Gibson in 1988, and Reggie Jackson in 1977, just to name a few.

Very rarely does an October legend get a second act: I honestly can’t think of any other who didn’t don the Yankee uniform. Big Papi not only had a second October act but a third.

Act Two: the 2007 Postseason

David Ortiz’s second act (and second ring) came in 2007. In Game 1 of the ALDS (against the Los Angeles Angels), Big Papi announced to the world that he was ready for this postseason by delivering a two-run home run in the bottom of the 3rd inning off future teammate John Lackey.

In Game 3, Ortiz and Manny Ramirez hit back-to-back solo homers in the top of the 4th to pace the BoSox to an easy win and three-game sweep.

In the ALCS against Cleveland, in which the Sox had to come back from a 3 Games to 1 series deficit, Ortiz was fairly quiet, if you can call a .966 OPS quiet. I use the term “quiet” because he did not have any signature moments. Thanks to two blowouts in Games 6 and 7 the Sox returned to the World Series to face the Colorado Rockies.

In the Fall Classic, the Red Sox blew out the Rockies in Game 1 by a 13-1 score, with Ortiz supplying 3 hits and 2 RBI. Boston would go on to sweep the Rox in 4 games, with Big Papi providing another “quiet” .945 OPS.

Although he didn’t have any historic moments as in 2004, Ortiz still clubbed 3 home runs with 10 RBI in the 2007 postseason along with a 1.204 OPS en route to adding ring #2 to his collection.

Act Three: the 2013 Postseason

The third act of David Ortiz’s World Series story was in 2013. This was not supposed to be a good year for the Red Sox, who had come off a miserable 93-loss campaign.

In the off-season, GM Ben Cherington drew an inside straight with a series of small free-agent signings, bringing in multiple gritty, gutty players who completely changed the character and competence of the team. Newcomers Shane Victorino, Mike Napoli, Stephen Drew, Jonny Gomes, David Ross, and Koji Uehara all were integral parts of a team that improved from 69 to 97 wins and an easy division title.

In the ALDS, Ortiz wasted little time to reclaim his mantle of Senor Octubre; he clubbed two solo home runs off another future teammate (David Price, the 2012 Cy Young Award winner), leading the bearded Bostonians to a 3-1 series win.

In the ALCS, the Red Sox were up against the Detroit Tigers and a troika of premier starting pitchers. Anibal Sanchez and four relievers shut them out in a 1-0 Game 1 Tigers win in which the Sox managed a total of one hit.

2013 ALCS (Tigers v Red Sox): Game 2

In Game 2, Max Scherzer, who would win take the Cy Young trophy that year, allowed just one run on two hits (with 13 strikeouts) in 7 spectacular frames.

With a 5-1 lead and Scherzer having thrown 108 pitches, manager Jim Leyland went to his pen. Although this was probably the right move given Mad Max’s pitch count, there had to be a sense of relief in the Sox dugout.

Leyland used four pitchers in the bottom of the 8th: three different pitchers managed to load the bases while getting only two outs.

With two outs and the sacks full, Leyland summoned his fourth reliever of the inning, closer Joaquin Benoit. On the very first pitch, Ortiz smacked the ball to deep right field; 9-time Gold Glover Torii Hunter raced back to the wall to try to make a game-saving catch, the kind of catch he had made many times in his illustrious career.

But Hunter came up just short, tumbling over the wall in a gallant effort. Fenway Park, which just minutes ago had been quiet as a cathedral with a 5-1 deficit, exploded into Papi-fueled delirium on the game-tying grand slam. If Ortiz had hit the ball just a bit more softly, Hunter would have caught the ball, the inning would have ended and the Sox would have likely headed back to Detroit facing a 2-0 series deficit.

It would be Big Papi’s only hit of the ALCS against Detroit but it was a series-changing hit. The Sox won the game in the bottom of the 9th and would take the series in 6 games.

2013 World Series (Cardinals v Red Sox)

In the World Series against St. Louis, David Ortiz was out of this world. In the 2nd inning of Game 1, Big Papi nearly hit another grand slam but Carlos Beltran caught his deep fly ball up against the bullpen wall. Ortiz settled for a sacrifice fly. He followed that up with a 7th inning 2-run blast that turned a 5-0 lead into an insurmountable 7-run margin.

In Game 2, with the Sox trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the 6th inning, Ortiz delivered a 2-run tater over the Green Monster to give Boston a 2-1 lead. The Cardinals, however, would go on to win the game 4-2.

In Game 3, Big Papi went 1 for 2 with 2 walks (one of them intentional) as the Redbirds took a 2-1 series lead, winning in walk-off fashion in the 9th.

2013 World Series Game 4 (The Speech)

Game 4 arrived with Boston badly needing a win. The team had been stymied by Cards’ starter Lance Lynn and trailed 1-0 in the 5th inning. Up came Ortiz, who led off the frame with a double to right-center field.

Upon arriving at second base, Ortiz yelled “let’s go” to inspire his teammates. He wound up scoring the tying run three batters later on a sacrifice fly by Drew.

With the score now tied at 1 in the middle of the 5th inning, Ortiz gathered his teammates around him and delivered an impassioned speech which is credited by some for turning the series around.

“David Ortiz rallied us together… I think that just sums up the type of guy he is, the superstar he is, the teammate he is, the passion he has for the game… That this guy wants to rally us together for a pep talk, it was like 24 kindergartners looking up at their teacher. He got everyone’s attention and we looked him right in the eyes, and that message was pretty powerful.”

— Johnny Gomes (October 27, 2013)

Gomes turned out to be the guy who delivered on Big Papi’s message. After a two-out single by Dustin Pedroia and a walk to Ortiz, the Sox’ left fielder blasted a three-run home run in the top of the 7th to give the Sox a 4-1 lead, which resulted in a 4-2 win.

David Ortiz: 2013 World Series MVP

In Game 5, Big Papi set the pace again with a first-inning RBI double. In the top of the 4th, Ortiz tied a World Series record by reaching base for his 9th consecutive plate appearance. The Sox went on to win Game 5 by a 3-1 score.

Game 6 was back at Fenway Park and the Sox had the chance to clinch their first World Series title at their home ballpark since, yes, 1918. In both 2004 and 2007, the Sox swept their opponents and celebrated on enemy soil.

In this game, the Cardinals wanted nothing to do with Ortiz. After drawing a 9-pitch walk in the first inning, he was intentionally walked in the 3rd and 5th. Both times, Papi’s teammates made the Redbirds pay.

Ortiz was the first to cross the plate on Shane Victorino’s 3rd inning, bases-clearing double. The Flyin’ Hawaiian drove Big Papi home again in the 5th. The Red Sox won easily, 6-1, and the faithful fans finally got a chance to witness a title clincher at Fenway.

All in all, Senor Octubre was named the World Series MVP; with his 2 home runs and 6 RBI came a .688 batting average and a 1.948 OPS.

Ortiz’ .688 BA was the second-highest in the history of the Fall Classic, behind only Cincinnati’s Billy Hatcher, who hit .750 in 1990. In 1990, the Reds swept the Oakland A’s so Hatcher’s .750 clip was accomplished in just 15 plate appearances, 10 fewer than Papi’s 25 in 2013.

Epilogue: the 2016 Swan Song

In 2014, the year after the magic of 2013, the Red Sox sagged dramatically, finishing last in the AL East with a 71-91 record. 2015 wasn’t much better, with the Sox finishing last again at 78-84.

The main highlight for these two sorry Sox teams was that David Ortiz continued to mash, even into his late 30’s. For Red Sox Nation, the best moment of 2015 was a regular-season game in Tampa Bay in September, in which Ortiz launched his 500th career home run.

In 2016, the Sox had a team that offered Ortiz one more opportunity to shine in the post-season sun. Right fielder Mookie Betts emerged as a superstar and MVP candidate. Second baseman Dustin Pedroia had a renaissance campaign.

Most importantly, Big Papi had arguably the greatest hitting season ever for a 40-year old player. Ortiz hit .315 with 38 home runs. He led the A.L. with 127 RBI, 48 doubles, a .620 SLG, and 1.021 OPS. Papi’s park-and-season-adjusted OPS+ (168) was the highest ever for a 40-year old to qualify for the batting title, besting Willie Mays’ 158 OPS+ in 1971.

Before the season, Ortiz had announced that 2016 would be his final season. He made the most of his last hurrah and was feted at every visiting stadium, having earned that level of respect throughout Major League Baseball. The Red Sox won the A.L. East and headed into October with the high expectations of a swan song for their retiring slugger.

Not every story, even the feel-good stories, has a perfect ending. It seemed as if the Sox’ were distracted by the Ortiz retirement tour. The team lost 5 of its last 6 regular-season games and then were swept in three games by the Cleveland Indians in the ALDS.

In Game 1, it seemed like there might be some magic left. In the top of the 8th inning, the Sox trailed the Tribe 5-3. Utilityman Brock Holt led off the inning with a solo home run. Two batters later, Ortiz doubled, making himself the tying run. The 40-year old Ortiz was lifted for a pinch-runner and Indians’ closer Cody Allen got out of the jam. The Sox would lose 5-4.

Ortiz went 0 for 4 in Boston’s 6-0 loss in Game 2. In Game 3, Ortiz had a sacrifice fly and walked twice as the Sox’ fell 4-3. Senor Octubre’s last plate appearance in October resulted in a four-pitch walk.

Less than three years after his retirement, in June 2019, Ortiz was in the news in a way no baseball fan would ever want. On June 9th, the native of the Dominican Republic was shot twice at a nightclub in the capital city Santo Domingo in what was an organized hit that was a case of mistaken identity. With his life in the balance, Ortiz underwent a six-hour operation during which portions of his intestines, colon, and gallbladder were removed. A few days later, a medical flight sent by the Red Sox organization flew their former All-Star back to Boston for continued treatment at Massachusetts General Hospital. Thankfully, Ortiz made a full recovery.

Greatest Postseason Hitter Ever?

Despite the disappointing ending, David Ortiz retired after the 2016 season as an almost universally regarded sure-fire Hall of Famer and one of the most important figures in the sport in the first 17 years of the 21st century.

Is Ortiz the greatest postseason hitter in baseball history? In 85 postseason games, Big Papi hit .289 with a .404 OBP and .543 SLG (which adds up to a .947 OPS). That’s only slightly better than his career regular-season slash line of .286/.380/.552 (a career OPS of .931).

In the regular season, Ortiz averaged 36 HR and 119 RBI per 162 games played. If you take his postseason stats and project to 162 games, you get 33 HR and 117 RBI. Virtually no difference.

So, if you take the totality of Big Papi’s postseason career, he was essentially the same hitter that he was during his 20 seasons in Major League Baseball.

David Ortiz and Win Probability Added

That analysis, of course, is wholly incorrect. Besides the fact that, in October, you’re facing better pitchers than you do over the balance of a 162-game schedule, David Ortiz was in fact one of the greatest clutch October batsman in the history of the sport. There is a statistic called Win Probability Added (WPA) which measures situational hitting or pitching. Essentially, WPA gives you credit (or demerit) for hits (or outs) that alter the likelihood of winning or losing.

In the bottom of the 8th of Game 2 of the 2013 ALCS, Ortiz strode to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded. The Red Sox were trailing the Detroit Tigers by a 5-1 score. The odds (per Baseball-Reference) that the Red Sox would win that game were a measly 7%. In one swing of the bat, his grand slam off Joaquin Benoit, Ortiz tied the score and raised the odds of victory to 53%. Thus, by increasing his team’s odds of winning from 7% to 53%, Oritz gets a WPA of 0.46 (which is 0.53 minus 0.07).

Compare the grand slam off Benoit to Big Papi’s first home run in the 2013 World Series. It was a two-run blast off the Cardinals’ Kevin Siegrist. That tater was only worth a WPA of 0.01. Why? Because it was in the bottom of the 7th inning and the Sox were already ahead by a 5-0 score. The game was in hand and Papi’s two-run shot just moved the needle slightly closer to a 100% win probability.

Anyway, as we’ve seen in the paragraphs above, Ortiz had a great number of clutch hits in his postseason play. In his 85 playoff games, Ortiz delivered a 3.2 WPA, which is the most for any postseason hitter in the history of the game.

Now, to be fair, in the Wild Card era (since 1995), players have more opportunities than in either the LCS era (1969-1993) or when the only postseason ball was the World Series (1903-1968).

If you take the World Series only, Ortiz WPA (1.2) is merely tied for 7th best in history. He trails Lou Gehrig, Charlie Keller, Lance Berkman, Mickey Mantle, Home Run Baker, and Reggie Jackson in this category. The BBWAA voters clearly didn’t notice Berkman’s name on this list when they booted him off future ballots in January 2019 by giving him less than 5% of the vote.

An All-time World Series Great

Needless to say, David Ortiz’s legend in October rests on more than the Fall Classic. Arguably his three most significant hits came in the ALCS. I’m referring to the two walk-offs in Games 4 & 5 of the 2004 ALCS and the aforementioned granny in 2013.

Still, if you want to look solely at World Series performance (to make it an even playing field for all generations), Ortiz still reigns supreme.

Through the end of 2021, there are 300 exactly players in baseball history who have accumulated at least 50 Fall Classic plate appearances.

With his 59 World Series plate appearances, Ortiz has the highest batting average (.455) of any player ever. Ortiz has the highest on-base percentage (.576) of any player ever. He also has the second-highest slugging percentage (.795) of any player in the history of the Fall Classic, behind George Springer, but ahead of Jackson, Ruth, and Gehrig. That’s almost an incredible slash line Triple Crown for the World Series for Big Papi.

How the Red Sox Won Three Times in 10 Years

At the beginning of this section I noted that, in total, David Ortiz’s postseason statistics aren’t any different than his regular-season numbers. That’s a fact of record. What’s interesting, though, is the direct correlation between Ortiz’s numbers in 2004, 2007, and 2013 (the three title years) and the other six years in which his teams appeared in the postseason but didn’t advance to the Fall Classic. Those years are 2002 (with the Twins), 2003, 2005, 2008, 2009, and 2016.

Look at Big Papi’s stats in the championship seasons compared to the non-championship seasons:

WP Table Builder

The point to this story is this: when the Red Sox won their titles, they did it on the back of their big man, Big Papi. Like most hitters, he went on hot streaks and cold streaks. When David Ortiz got hot, he got scalding hot and delivered three championship rings to a franchise that had been without one for so long.

Digging deeper into those numbers, Ortiz hit .197 (with a .567 OPS) in his first 19 postseason tilts. The birth of Senor Octobre actually occurred in the must-win Games 6 and 7 of the ALCS in 2003. Even in that losing effort, Ortiz went 4 for 10 (.400) with a home run and 4 RBI in those two games.

Only in 2008 can one point a finger at Ortiz as one of the principal culprits in the Sox’ failure to advance to the Fall Classic. Ortiz hit .154 in the ALCS that year against the Tampa Bay Rays (.697 OPS) and made a couple of key outs in Game 7.

For players who won at least two titles, Big Papi’s post-season OPS of 1.231 in championship seasons only is third-best only to Ruth (1.371) and Gehrig (1.289). In those years, Ortiz’s WPA of 3.6 is far above the second-best (Gehrig with 2.1).

No matter what way you look at it, no other hitter in history had a greater impact on his teams’ successful title runs than Ortiz.

David Ortiz and the 2003 Survey Test

In all likelihood, David Ortiz will be inducted into the Hall of Fame, possibly next summer as a first-ballot inductee. The only thing that might slow down his progress to the Hall is the fact that he was named on a survey test in which he allegedly tested positive for the use of Performance Enhancing Drugs. The tests were supposed to be kept private but someone leaked it to the New York Times. Ortiz and 103 other players were named in the report.

However, as Ortiz was wrapping up his final MLB campaign in 2016, Commissioner Rob Manfred addressed the 2003 tests by claiming that there were at least 10 false positives in the testing and that it was “unfair” for Ortiz’s legacy to be tarnished by it. One of the other players on the list of 104 was Sammy Sosa and the members of the BBWAA have given no Hall of Fame voting love to Slammin’ Sammy. The highest vote percentage Sosa has received in nine times on the ballot has been 17% on the 2021 ballot.

Since this Times report is the only documented link between Sosa and PEDs, would there be a double-standard in play if Ortiz were elected to the Hall? I don’t think so, because there’s a huge difference between the two. The difference is that the league and union agreed to a drug testing regimen that started in 2005. The first prominent player to test positive was Rafael Palmeiro, who was in the final season of his career. Because of that positive test, Palmeiro lasted for only four years on the BBWAA ballot, getting just 4.4%, which made him ineligible for future ballots.

Anyway, Sosa played for only two seasons during the drug-testing era (in 2005 with Baltimore and 2007 in Texas). Statistically speaking, Sosa was a shell of hitter he had been with the Chicago Cubs, for whom he hit 545 of his 609 home runs. David Ortiz was tested for PEDs for each of the last 12 seasons of his MLB career. During those years, many prominent sluggers failed drug tests, including Manny Ramirez, Ryan Braun, Robinson Cano, and Nelson Cruz. They were all suspended, as was Alex Rodriguez (for an entire year) due to the biogenesis scandal.

Ortiz never failed a test during the official drug-testing era that contained penalties for positive tests. Given Manfred’s assertion that there were false positives in the 2003 survey tests, to me that positive test is not a reason to keep Big Papi out of the Hall of Fame.

Final Thoughts

David Ortiz was signed as a free agent by the Red Sox on January 22, 2003, having been released by the Minnesota Twins five weeks earlier. Little did the front office know that the signing of this left-handed-hitting designated hitter would change the course of the franchise’s history.

On a team that went 86 years without a World Series title, David Ortiz delivered three in the span of ten years. He wasn’t just the only player on all three championship teams of 2004, 2007, and 2013, he was an indispensable member of those teams and that is why, although he is not the greatest player in Red Sox history, he is the biggest folk hero now and likely for decades to come.

In addition, when it came to crunch time, he is one of the greatest postseason hitters in the history of baseball. He deserves to be elected to the Hall of Fame.

Thanks for reading! Please follow Cooperstown Cred on Twitter @cooperstowncred.

Chris Bodig

Embed from Getty Images