David Ortiz, who built a reputation as someone who often saved his best for last, wasted no time gaining entrance into the Baseball Hall of Fame, as he was voted in his first time on the ballot Tuesday.
Ortiz received 77.9 percent of the votes from members of the Baseball Writers Association of America, and will be inducted next July in Cooperstown. No other player was elected Tuesday night, though Ortiz will joined by Jim Kaat and Tony Oliva, who were elected last month by a Veterans Committee. Also, Gil Hodges, Minnie Minoso, Bud Fowler and Buck O'Neil will be inducted posthumously.
Roger Clemens, a seven-time Cy Young Award-winner, and Barry Bonds, a seven-time MVP, fell short in their final year of eligibility.
Ortiz, who is 17th all-time with 541 career homers and was part of three championship teams, became the 58th player to gain entrance on the first ballot. Other Red Sox players who have been so honored are Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, Wade Boggs and Pedro Martinez.
"I started paying attention (to the additional honor of being elected on the first try),'' said Ortiz. "To me, getting into the Hall of Fame, no matter what, was important, because I know so many great players who haven't gotten in on the first ballot, but down the road, they find a way to get in. Now, I know and kind of learned, how difficult it is to get in on the first ballot. And it's a wonderful honor to get in on my first rodeo. That's very special to me.
"I can't imagine how New England has to feel about one of their babies getting into the Hall of Fame today. I'm not even going to tell you about the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republic is a country that breathes baseball and people are very excited around here and everybody's going crazy around here. But it's amazing to be part of this pack on the first ballot. It's something very special.''
When Ortiz joined the Red Sox prior to the start of the 2003 season, he was already 27 and with his third organization, having been signed by the Seattle Mariners as an international free agent, then traded to the Minnesota Twins, where he spent six seasons before being non-tendered. Ortiz battled for playing time in the first half of 2003 and nearly requested a trade before getting a chance to play more regularly mid-season.
Ortiz took that opportunity and ran with it. In 14 seasons with the Sox, he hit 30 homers and posted 100 or more RBI in 10 of them. More importantly, he led them to three World Series triumphs -- no small feat for a franchise that went 86 years without a title.
In recent weeks, a tracking system that tabulated public ballots had Ortiz trending well above 80 percent, but there was no guarantee of election, since those totals are often depressed when private ballots are revealed.
That meant some anxious moments for Ortiz in his native country.
"The longest time I ever (experienced) was after noon today,'' said Ortiz, recounting the wait. "They don't tell you much. The Hall of Fame tells you about the protocol, but they don't say much. They just tell you, 'This is what you've gotta do and you might receive this phone call blah blah blah....' The time started ticking and it drove me crazy. But once I received that phone call today, with the whole family (here), my kids, my dad, Pedro (Martinez), my agent, my friends, it was something man. It was great. It's something that I never dreamed of.
"Especially in the first year. As difficult as it is, you think it might take a left turn because we've seen it all when it comes down to this. But I'm so thankful and grateful to be able to part of this elite group. This is something that, I'm not going to lie to you, I never dreamed of.''
Ortiz was a 10-time All-Star and finished in the top five on five occasions for the A.L. MVP, but this honor topped them all.
"It's a next-level type of thing,'' said Ortiz. "I accomplished so many wonderful things during my career. I won so many championships and got so many good hits and put so many smiles on peoples' faces. I had so many great and wonderful times while I played. But this one, is the type of baby that you want to hold onto and never let go. You don't receive that kind of phone call on a daily basis.
"You're talking about, what, 340 players (inducted into the Hall)? You know how many players I've met? Do you know how many players have played Major League Baseball in over 100 years? And only 340 players are capable of being part of this (group). It's amazing.''
Ortiz also becomes the third player to be inducted who spent more than half his time as a DH, following Frank Thomas and Edgar Martinez.
But in the end, Ortiz's lasting legacy was how he changed the perception of the franchise he came to represent. With close calls and agonizing losses in 1967, 1975, 1978 and 1986, Red Sox fans were historically predisposed to expect the worst. Every time it appeared as though the long championship drought might finally come to an end, a title was snatched away, often cruelly.
Ortiz, beginning in the 2004 postseason, changed all of that.
"I know we changed things around,'' he said. "When I first got to the Red Sox, everything was very negative. I don't blame anyone for that. I blame the history of not being able to win for 86 years. But we were able to accomplish so many good things and stay positive and changed peoples' mentality and how they think about the Red Sox.''