Boston Legend Set to Retire

David "Big Papi" (Cookie Monster?) Ortiz has announced that he will retire following the 2016 season, bringing an end to an illustrious career. Now that the finish line is in sight for Ortiz, the big question is the Hall of Fame. Is David Ortiz a Hall of Famer? The short answer is "yes," but currently no designated hitters have been voted into the Hall of Fame, the position that Ortiz has spent most of his career. The camps are divided between those that think he should get in (right) and those who think he should not (wrong). For those who don't want Ortiz in the Hall of Fame, the argument revolves around suspected PED (performance enhancing drug) use, merely serving as a designated hitter, and hatred of Dominicans. Those who believe Ortiz belongs in baseball's magical list of names point out his massive home run total (503 as of the end of 2015) and his spectacular postseason displays while leading, scratch that, winning the Boston Red Sox 3 World Series titles. Clearly Ortiz's impact on the Red Sox and this generation of baseball merit him induction into the Hall of Fame now. Let's take a look at why.

First, let's address the PED allegations. When asked if he used any illegal substances, Ortiz says he didn't. So Ortiz is clean. Now let's look at designated hitters. Currently no DHs have been voted into the Hall of Fame including Edgar Martinez. The designated hitter position is often frowned on because it is located not on the field, but rather on the bench. Most people opposing the induction of a DH into the Hall of Fame are old school, die hard National League curmudgeons who think that the DH is an abomination to the game. What these people fail to recognize are the 277 games Ortiz has made appearances at first base, his career .990 fielding percentage and -4.4 UZR/150. Ortiz has played 2,161 inning in the field, the exclusive DH argument conveniently dismisses all of Ortiz's defensive prowess. And lastly on the hater's reasons for disallowing Ortiz's membership in the great Hall of Fame, we need to be respectful of everyone's nationality.

Ortiz's regular season numbers speak for themselves: 503 homers, 1,641 runs batted in, 15 stolen bases, .284 career batting average, wOBA of .390 and wRC+ of 138. What puts Ortiz over the top are his godly postseason performance. We all know about the 3 World Series championships he won all by himself in 2004, 2007, and 2013. In all three World Series winning runs, Ortiz literally won all stages of the postseason by himself, batting leadoff through nine while pitching every game with no relief. Most notably are his extra inning heroics in 2004, walk off 3-run bomb off K-Rod in 2007, and grand slam in game 2 of the ALCS in 2013.

Ortiz after his walk off blast against K-Rod in 2007

Ortiz game tying/series altering grand slam

However, no one ever mentions Ortiz's other legendary postseason exploits. In the 2003 ALDS against Oakland, the Red Sox won a thriller in 5 games with Ortiz going 2 for 21 (.095 average). Or in 2005 when the Red Sox got swept by the Chicago White Sox despite Ortiz driving in 1 run. Then in 2008 the Red Sox again reached the ALCS with Ortiz hitting .235 and driving in 1 run in the division series, and producing another 4 runs in the championship series while hitting at a .154 clip against the division rival Tampa Bay Rays. How would the Red Sox have managed to get swept in the 2009 division series against the Angels without Ortiz going 1 for 12 (.083 average) while batting in a whopping 0 runs. The evidence is overwhelmingly in Ortiz's favor. The greatest hitter in baseball postseason history.

Since joining the Red Sox in 2003, Ortiz has graced the wonderful city of Boston with much more than his presence. In 2003 alone the AIDS Action Committee was established, the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial bridge opened and Anime Boston started. Ortiz was a founding member of all three. In 2004, not only did Ortiz bring a World Series championship to Boston for the first time since 1918, but held moderated the 2004 Democratic National Convention in July. In 2005 Ortiz helped establish the Boston Derby Dames and warned the Big Dig of a potential ceiling collapse. His warning was ignored and in July of 2006 that ceiling collapsed.

Then in 2007 Ortiz established a Sister City relationship with Valladolid, Spain while rebuilding the Charles/MGH MBTA station. Ortiz took off a few years focusing exclusively on baseball, but came back hard in 2011 where he occupied and then unoccupied Boston, saved Massachusetts from Hurricane Sandy in 2012, united Boston in 2013 with the greatest speech ever and later got 5 additional years added to Whitey Bulger's two life sentences.

Ortiz has had an illustrious, godly, superhuman-like career in Boston, but it's clear his powers are beginning to dwindle judging by the snowstorm that hit Boston last year. What is not debatable is Ortiz's Hall of Fame standing. Ortiz is without a doubt a pre-ballot Hall of Famer who should have been elected into the magical list of names yesterday. The Hall of Fame is Ortiz's f*cking list.