Hall of Fame: David Ortiz

Famous Dominican baseball player David Ortiz has spent a lot of the years of his life working hard to make his name known throughout the world. Ortiz, better known as “Big Papi,” is a former Dominican-American baseball player who always played in the hitter position. He was also the first baseman to play about twenty seasons in MLB (Major League Baseball), mainly with the Boston Red Sox. He’s an extremely well-known and idolized baseball player, and it’s safe to say that his hard work has in fact, paid off. The famous Dominican player holds single-season and career home run records among designated hitters. He is also a lifelong DH leader in games, hits, runs, RBIs, doubles, extra-base hits, total bases, walks, and balls. He won the coveted Edgar Martinez Award eight times, a yearly award given to the best DH-, three times more than anyone else.

 

Getting into the Hall of Fame is extremely tricky to achieve, and Big Papi is one of the individuals who did. Five years after retirement, any athlete who played a minimum of 10 years in the major leagues is eligible to enter the baseball hall of fame. Still, they also have to be approved by the committee that chooses the best qualified David Ortiz, completed all of these requirements, and achieved a dream longed for by many other players. He retired in 2016 and then five years later, on January 25th, 2022, they elected him to the National Baseball Hall of Fame with about 77.9% of the collective vote. He was the only player voted in by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

 

It’s amazing to know that someone from our country, Dominican Republic, not only became the youngest and fourth Dominican that’s part of the Hall of Fame, but has also gained so much recognition for his talent and deserves even more than he already has.  It’s a proud day, week, month, and year for every Dominican worldwide,  every Big Papi fan, and David Ortiz himself; he made it farther than he ever expected to and everyone should be proud of his accomplishments.