Shortly after being introduced as the newest member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, former Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz was quick to point out that it was other Red Sox players who helped raise him to a standard that would eventually push him into Cooperstown.
It was fitting that Boston Red Sox teammate Pedro Martinez was standing behind Ortiz as he received the call to become one of baseball’s immortals. After all, Ortiz credited him and other from Boston teammates who stood beside him and supported him from the time he arrived in Boston prior to the 2003 season after being released by the Minnesota Twins through 2016 when “Big Papi” had become a New England legend alongside names like Bird, Orr, and Brady.
Cooperstown is calling! pic.twitter.com/de1K5bHxlZ
— Red Sox (@RedSox) January 25, 2022
In his media sessions with MLB Network and the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA), Ortiz flashed plenty of smiles and handed out plenty of compliments and did it in the presence of Martinez, who will share a note in history with him as a pair of Red Sox players inducted into Cooperstown on their first ballot (Martinez being elected in 2015).
"“I’m the kind of guy, I don’t really complain,” a beaming Ortiz said in the moments after the announcement had become official. “I had so many amazing teammates because I’m the guy that I get along with everybody. I don’t want you to change a thing. I want you to know I love you just the way you are.”"
It’s clear that Boston has loved Ortiz since he arrived to make his mark at Fenway Park and changed the course of the postseason fate that had been suffered by the Red Sox for decades. In three World Series (2004, 2007, and 2013) covering 59 plate appearances, Ortiz slashed .455/.576/.795 with three home runs and 14 RBI. Boston went 3-0 in those World Series, including a 2013 conquest of the St. Louis Cardinals when he posted an incredible .688/.760/1.188 slash line in 25 plate appearances on his way to earning MVP honors.
"“I was always concerned about going home without a trophy,” Ortiz said. “I was lucky enough to have the right teammates. I was lucky enough to have the right coaches. I was lucky enough to play for the right organization who had my back all of the time.“If I am born again, I would like to get the opportunity to play for them (Red Sox) again because they educated me not only as a player, but they also educated me as a human being.”"
Education was at the heart of a few comments from Ortiz during his press gatherings. He stressed that his career would not have been what it was without learning from the immense amount of talent that he shared a clubhouse with in Boston.
"“Once I got to Boston, I went with a mentality to learn why Pedro (Martinez) was an All-Star, why Manny (Ramirez) was an All-Star, why (Jason) Varitek was an All-Star, why Nomar Garciaparra was an All-Star,” Ortiz recalled. “That team was surrounded with so many superstars that I went in there like a sponge trying to learn.”“I knew I had the talent, but it doesn’t matter how much talent you got, if you don’t have the right people around you that you can learn from and they have patience for you, it’s hard to have your ability reach the highest level.“I had good people in my corner.”"
Ortiz believes that those “good people” helped mold him into a Hall of Fame player. Now, with their support and the love of an entire region and his home country of the Dominican Republic, Ortiz officially has his name linked alongside the best to ever play the game.