Yes. David Ortiz has definitely earned a perch in the Baseball Hall of Fame and it’s not solely because he hasn’t been implicated to using Performance Enhancing Drugs. While remaining clean has a rather large part to do with “Big Papi’s” candidacy for the Hall, there are plenty of other reasons why Ortiz deserves the honor once his playing days are over.
As of now, no one in the history of MLB has as many hits at the designated hitter position as David Ortiz. After notching his 1,689th hit as a designated hitter against the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday night, the Boston Red Sox slugger surpassed Harold Baines as the all-time leader in hits among DHs.
While the statistics stack up in No. 34′s favor, the baseball writers are the ones who decide which players go to the Hall of Fame, and the writers aren’t likely to be very keen on letting this Red Sox legend in.
The common thought among writers is that the Hall of Fame just doesn’t have any room for the designated hitter position – Edgar Martinez of the Mariners has been trying to get into the Hall since 2010 and remains a long-shot candidate. Martinez captivated the Mariners’ faithful by winning two batting titles and smashing 309 home runs with the Ms.
On the other hand, Ortiz has a ton more pop than the ex-Seattle standout with 420 home runs already. Time will tell, but judging by recent history it’s going to be hard for Big Papi to join baseball’s legends anytime soon.
Devin O’Barr is the Content Commentator for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @DevinOBarrRS, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
