Papi tours Baseball Hall of Fame
Former Red Sox standout visits Cooperstown ahead of his July 24 induction
“Papi! Papi!”
With the chants echoing in the Plaque Gallery as he entered, David Ortiz felt right at home inside the Hall of Fame.
The dreams of his youth growing up in the Dominican Republic came full circle on Monday at the end of the tour to prepare for his induction this summer.
And Big Papi clearly was touched.
“The party’s just beginning,” Ortiz said.
Hearing a group of high school ballplayers calling out his nickname helped, too.
A big smile creased his face as he sat somewhat in awe of his surroundings, wooden carvings of Babe Ruth and Ted Williams off just to his right.
“Man, it’s been a long road, you know what I’m saying. Being in this room, it’s my first time ever. It gives me goosebumps because as a kid, it’s like these guys in this room, you look at them and you’re like wow! It’s kind of impossible (to imagine) considering where I come from,” he said.
“The greatest players to ever play the game. It’s a huge compliment. I still can’t believe it. I still can’t believe it,” he said. “I know on the field I do whatever it takes to win championships and represent Boston. It worked.”
The longtime Red Sox slugger was elected to the Hall of Fame on his first try in January by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. A 10-time All-star over 20 seasons, mostly with Boston, Ortiz was chosen on 77.9 percent of ballots, just above the 75 percent threshold needed for election. He’s the 58th player picked in his first year on the ballot.
The 46-year-old Ortiz is the fourth Hall of Famer born in the Dominican Republic. He joins Juan Marichal, Pedro Martinez and Vladimir Guerrero. Ortiz will be enshrined on July 24 along with veteran committee selections Buck O’neil, Minnie Minoso, Gil Hodges, Tony Oliva, Jim Kaat and Bud Fowler.
Ortiz said he first started thinking about the Hall of Fame when he reached 400 homers in July 2012.
“Once I hit my 400th, somebody had a conversation with me about it and I was like, ‘Hmm. Let me try to take care of myself better, see if I can get there,’ ” he said. “That’s when I started paying attention.”
Ortiz, who batted .286 and hit 541 home runs with 1,768 RBIS playing for Boston and Minnesota, made 88 percent of his plate appearances as a designated hitter. That’s the most by anyone in the Hall of Fame, surpassing Seattle’s Edgar Martinez at 71.7 percent.