Players need to receive 75 percent of the vote to be elected. On Tuesday, Bonds received 66 percent, and Clemens got 65.2 percent in their last year of eligibility. Pitcher Curt Schilling, also in his final year on the ballot, earned 58.6 percent of the vote.
Big Papi Ortiz clocked in at 77.9, coincidentally the same as his time in the 100-yard dash, and just enough to get into Cooperstown in his first try.
The much-loved Big Papi was a classy and positive gentleman as always, issuing the following statement:
“I don’t even compare myself to them (Bonds and Clemens) because I saw so many times those guys performing and it was something that was very special. Not having them join me at this time is something that is hard for me to believe.”
In terms of impact on the team, the Red Sox’s acquisition of Big Papi was one of the most significant moves in post-WW2 baseball, comparable to the D-Backs signing Randy Johnson, or the Dodgers picking up Jackie Robinson. Ortiz placed in the top five in the MVP balloting in each of his first five years with the team, and the Sox won the World Series twice in those five years, after having failed to do so in the last 84 pre-Ortiz seasons. And then they won another before he retired. His lifetime World Series batting average is .455, the highest of all time among players with at least 40 plate appearances. He batted over .300 in his first two World Series, and then he almost won that third one by himself, batting an unearthly .688 to become the obvious MVP.
One of the nicest things about his career is that he went out on top. He had one of his best years in his last season at age 40 – leading the league in slugging percentage, RBI and OPS. He was such a feared hitter at the end of his career that he led the league in intentional walks in three of his last four seasons.
He is renowned for his clutch performance, but he was just a damned good hitter, clutch or otherwise. His lifetime OPS is among the top 40 of all time. Here are some players with a lower career OPS: Hank Aaron, Frank Robinson, Albert Pujols, Al Simmons, Mike Schmidt, Ken Griffey Jr …
I’ve made my point. Good individual player. Good team player. Fan favorite. Good guy. He’s in and he deserves it.
Wait, hasn’t Roberto Clemens already been in the HOF for almost half a century now?
Once I understood what Aaron/Maris did, I got a little less impressed with the whole “swinging for the fences” thing. It’s a physical trick. I guess I got a lot more appreciation for the old school of hit ’em where they ain’t, bunts, triples, running bases, infield defense. Not that there aren’t players today good at all those things. I just think it’s underrated. As the game stands, there’s just way too much scoring, to my taste.
Add’l: And author of one of the best baseball quotes of the last quarter century: “So I said, ‘You want me to hit like a little bitch, then I will.'”
” As Ortiz recalled once he got to Boston, “Something in my swing was not right in Minnesota. I could never hit for power. Whenever I took a big swing, they’d say to me, ‘Hey, hey, what are you doing?’ So I said, ‘You want me to hit like a little bitch, then I will.'””
As a Twins fan, this kills me. When he was in Minny I was a young man with the spare time and proximity to the Metrodome to catch more than a few ball games. At the time, he was an abysmal hitter; my friends and I used to call him The Big K. It was unthinkable he would end up in the HoF. I’m happy such a great guy found an opportunity but I loathe that Twins coaching staff.
Unfortunately those shitbags like Bonds still have a chance to get in, via some group that the HoF recognizes, who can vote twice every 5 years. Even if that happens though, it would be the equivalent of an asterisk, just like with his bogus HR record. Like tunneling in through a trap door, reverse El Chapo-style.
I’d personally have no problem with Bonds and Clemens being in the HoF, but I’m positively thrilled they Schilling isn’t in and hope that never changes.
Was Big Papi ever implicated or suspected of taking “The Clear” or something?
He tested positive in spring training 2003, but those tests were supposed to be anonymous and may have been innacurate. Still seems to be more important for his case that writers liked Ortiz and thought Bonds and Clemens were a-holes.
MLB also stated that the list contained false-positives as well, as it was never meant for public consumption. So was Papi one of those false-positives? Who knows? But the fact is that there’s no publicly available confirmed proof that he did ever test positive.
Plausible deniability. 😛 Regardless like Papi, glad he’s in. ✔
Helping the Sox come back from 3 down to the Yankees notwithstanding. 🙂
Leaked through the sports page of some provincial NYC paper as I recall. The Sox organization was not above doing that sort of thing- they leaked the same sort of stuff on an Indians starter (Byrd) right before the 2007 ALCS.
Glad to see him get in. One of two players I couldn’t help liking although they were confirmed Indians killers, Victor Martinez being the other. If he’s not a HOFer, who the fuck is outside of the inner circle?
And glad to see Bonds not. The record book is now full of numbers from certain players, and he’s the poster boy, some of which are legit and some aren’t. Aaron and Ruth are still the home run kings in my book.
That anonymous test was also before Ortiz started putting up his big HOF numbers. Basically his entire career he was tested and he never failed a single test. The writers correctly do not even consider the anonymous test since it is unreliable. Ortiz to them is 100% clean.