The man they called Big Papi, David Ortiz, made it into the Hall of Fame. He was named on 77.9 percent of the writers’s votes, needing only 75 percent for entry.

He is only the third full-time DH to make it, after Edgar Martinez and Frank Thomas. 

Yes, there was the report of a positive PED result in what was supposed to be an anonymous test in 2003 but the circumstances surrounding that, since it was supposed to be anonymous, are cloudy. Less cloudy were the PED histories of Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and Sammy Sosa, all three who failed to be voted in once again. For all three, this was their last year on the ballot and will now have to rely on other election committees voting bodies in the future. Curt Shilling also failed to make it in his last year. He had been gaining steam the past few years but after failing to make it in 2021 he asked for his name to be taken off the list. It wasn’t. But enough voters collectively took him up on that and left his name off their lists. 

But back to Ortiz. He is a textbook in perseverance. He was signed by Seattle as a teenager, traded to Minnesota before playing a single game for the Mariners, and pretty much toiled in obscurity in his six seasons as a Twin. 

In Minnesota, he hit .266 with an OPS of .804 and an OPS+ of 108. Decent, but not eye-opening numbers, mostly as a part-time player.

The Twins released him. 

Then, it all kicked in. Boston picked him up. He said all he ever wanted was a chance to play full time. The Red Sox gave that to him. To say he took advantage of the opportunity is an understatement. Ortiz took a franchise known for The Curse and carried it on its back to three World Series titles. 

If you measure a player by how he does in the big moments, nobody was bigger than Big Papi. Ortiz holds the record for highest World Series batting average and OPS.

In 14 game played over three World Series, David Ortiz batted an incredible .455 with an OPS of 1.372. His on-base percentage was .576.

He was a one-man wrecking crew.

Congratulations to David Ortiz on making it into the Hall of Fame. 

And congratulations to the Baseball Writers of America for leaving Bonds and Clemens out. But how the heck did Alex Rodriguez get 34.3 percent of their votes?