David Ortiz watched his 400th home run off Oakland Athletics right-hander A.J. Griffin soar into the right field bleachers in the 4th inning of the Red Sox 3-2 loss.
Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz has been among the better hitters in Major League Baseball for the past nine and a half seasons, but he is a borderline Hall of Famer.
Ortiz hit his 4o0th home run on Wednesday in a 3-2 loss to the Oakland Athletics. This marked the 22nd roundtripper of the year for Ortiz on a team with a revolving door of players because of injuries to their starters. Ortiz has been the lone consistent player in this Red Sox offense and he has helped keep the team afloat in the wild card race with his production from the middle of the order.
There are several reasons that Ortiz should be considered a Hall of Famer besides his 400 career dingers, which he could finish with over 450 if he continues the pace he is on for the next couple of years. Former Red Sox outfielder Jim Rice eventually landed in Cooperstown because he was one of the most feared hitters in his playing days. The same can be said for Ortiz. From 2003-to-present-day, Ortiz has remained one of the most powerful sluggers in the game. He continues to produce at the ripe age of 36 with a .302 average and a ridiculous .997 OPS. In 2004, he helped the Red Sox come back from a 3-0 hole in the ALCS to the New York Yankees with two walkoff hits in consecutive nights. First, he hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the 12th of the Game 4 victory and then Ortiz brought in the game-winning run on the next night with a single to hand the Red Sox a 5-4 win. Ortiz was named the Most Valuable Player and the Red Sox ended an 86-year drought of World Series titles with a sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals. He played a prominent role in the 2007 World Series title. Ortiz is an 8-time All Star who has been among the top 5 in MVP votes on five occasions, including a runner-up finish in 2005. He hit 54 home runs in 2006, which is a franchise record.
Ortiz is not a sure-fire Hall of Famer because he is a full-time DH, a position where many people vote against DH’s because they do not play in the field. Before Ortiz was scooped up by Theo Epstein and the Red Sox front office in the winter of 2003, he was a little-known first baseman who struggled throughout most of his career. The most homers Ortiz had in his six seasons with the Minnesota Twins was in 2002 with 20. He was an overweight first baseman/DH who had trouble hitting to the opposite field. There were reports in 2009 of a positive drug test from 2003 when Major League Baseball randomly tested multiple players as a measuring stick to rid the league of steroid use. In 2009-’10, Ortiz struggled in the beginning of the season, especially against left-handed pitchers. Terry Francona caused a rift in April of 2010 when he pinch hit Mike Lowell for Ortiz in the later innings of a game against the Texas Rangers.
Over the past couple of seasons, Ortiz has regained his ability to go towards the opposite field. He has been slamming the ball against southpaws. While the shift has worked at times, Ortiz has managed to overcome opposing managers who dare put their infielders in the short outfield to take away the right side of the field.
Even though Ortiz has 400 homers, this does not guarantee him a spot among the legends of the game. Players like Mark McGwire (583), Rafael Palmeiro (569), and Sammy Sosa (609) haven’t made it in yet because of their steroid use. McGwire admitted to using steroids, but Palmeiro and Sosa never said they used steroids even though Palmeiro was suspended in August 2005 after his finger-waving testimony in front of Congress in March of the same year. Sosa failed a drug test in 2003.
There needs to be a precedent done for the steroid era because it would be difficult to justify voting in some players rather than others who enhanced their statistics by using artificial substances to help their careers. The same also could be said for designated hitters like Ortiz and Edgar Martinez. If one designated hitter gets a bust, then other DH’s who have impressive resumes need to be added.
Ortiz does make a compelling case to be put in the Hall of Fame because he forced managers like Joe Maddon to play him differently than others with his “3-4″ alignment and he was feared when he stepped into the batter’s box. He will never be voted in because of his position.