The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Ortiz awestruck as induction looms
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. » Six months after he got one of the most amazing phone calls in sports, David Ortiz is still awestruck at his good fortune.
The former Boston Red Sox slugger known affectionately as Big Papi will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on July 24.
Maybe then baseball’s highest honor will finally sink in.
“I still can’t believe it. This is like a dream come true,” the 46-year-old Ortiz said. “I grew up tough, man. I grew up tough. My childhood wasn’t that easy, but I had great parents to guide me and keep me away from trouble.”
Ortiz hit 541 home runs in 20 big-league seasons and helped the Red Sox win three World Series. He is the 58th player selected by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America in his first year of eligibility, and he served as a designated hitter more than any previous inductee.
Six Era Committee selections are also part of the Class of 2022. Minnesota Twins teammates pitcher Jim Kaat and free-swinging slugger Tony Oliva, and late Dodger great Gil Hodges, who managed the New York Mets to their first World Series title in 1969, are among them.
Also getting their due: Minnie Miñoso, a star with the Chicago White Sox in the 1950s; Buck O’Neil, who played for the Kansas
City Monarchs in the Negro Leagues and was a tireless advocate for the game; and Bud Fowler, a pioneering Black player who grew up in Cooperstown in the 1860s and played in more than a dozen leagues.
It’s a class with three Latino players and two Black players who helped pave the way for today’s stars, and three players with ties to the Twins.
Minnesota holds a special place in Ortiz’s heart because of the friendship he developed with Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett — No. 34 just like Big Papi — before Ortiz was dealt to the Red Sox after six seasons.
“That was my guy,” said Ortiz, who survived a nightclub shooting three years ago in his native Dominican Republic.
Kaat’s journey to Cooperstown is rather remarkable. He was 1-4 in 1958 playing for Missoula of the Pioneer League, and he figured he was one start from being sent home. Player-manager Jack McKeon gave Kaat a place in the rotation every fourth day, and he finished the season 16-9.
“I learned a lot about myself. I learned a lot about pitching,” said the 83-yearold Kaat, who grew up in Zeeland, Michigan. “I feel badly for the pitchers today because that’s where you get your foundation.”
Using finesse instead of power, the 6-foot-4 lefthander pitched for 25 years before retiring in 1983 with 283 wins and 17 saves in stints with six teams.