Game’s elite back Big Papi for Hall
Goose: DH spot shouldn’t stop him
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Baseball’s newest class of Hall of Famers, Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Piazza, think David Ortiz should be joining them someday in Cooperstown.
But Ortiz, who has said he will retire after this season, still faces a high bar when he becomes eligible for election, likely in 2022.
“Do I think he is a Hall of Famer? Absolutely. He has done an incredible job in that city,” Griffey said yesterday at a press conference for the new inductees. “The numbers he has put up, three titles, the list goes on of the accomplishments he has done on the field, you can’t take that away from him.”
Ortiz signed as an amateur free agent with the Mariners in 1992, giving Griffey the chance to see the young slugger up close.
“He wasn’t Big Papi, he was thin Papi at that time,” Griffey joked. “To watch him do the things he has done over the years, he’s become one of the most feared hitters in all of baseball. You take the things he does in the clutch, he is the one guy who, when you’re facing him, you don’t want him to beat you no matter what.”
Piazza, about to be inducted in his second year on the ballot, agreed with Griffey that Ortiz should be Cooperstown-bound someday, and called him “one of the most charismatic players to come along in the game in a long time.”
Ortiz’ candidacy for the Hall won’t be a slam dunk, despite his gaudy offensive numbers.
“There is a process you need to respect,” Piazza said. “There are going to be debates out there on numbers and everything else, and you have to respect the process and let it play itself out.”
Among the debates likely to arise for Ortiz in a career that has included more home runs than Ted Williams and three World Series titles is the fact that he is a designated hitter, something that has seemed to hurt Griffey’s former teammate, Edgar Martinez, in his ongoing quest to get into the Hall. No player who primarily played as a DH has been inducted in Cooperstown.
There’s also the 2003 report that Ortiz’ name appeared on a list of players who used PEDs. The report was supposed to be confidential, but leaked in 2009. Ortiz has denied ever using steroids.
Still, several of the baseball legends lining a busy Main Street on a sundrenched Saturday afternoon told the Herald they think Ortiz should get in.
“He’s awesome, I think he is going to be here in Cooperstown,” said Hall of Fame pitcher Juan Marichal. “For sure, with those numbers? Over 500 home runs, almost 2,000 RBI, 600-something doubles, oh my God, he’s got all the numbers in the world to be here.”
Denny McClain, the last man to win 30 games in a single season, added “He’s got to be in. Five-hundred home runs, I don’t care if it’s Little League, he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.”
Goose Gossage, another Cooperstown inductee, admitted he needed to study Ortiz’ numbers a bit more, but said the fact that he is a DH should not keep him out.
“It’s a position that they created and I think they should vote for it,” Gossage said. “Whether the thing with the PEDs comes up, I don’t know, there are a lot of rumors there. Hopefully it gets sorted out in the next five years, but it’s good to see an old guy have a great season.”
“I think David Ortiz should play two or three more years and then he should be here,” said Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry, referencing the career year the 40-year-old is producing. “He’s got a good chance to get in here for sure.”
Asked how he’d fare against Big Papi, Perry deadpanned, “I’d have struck him out. In interviews, I don’t give up any base hits.”
‘Do I think he is a Hall of Famer? Absolutely. He has done an incredible job in that city.’ — 2016 INDUCTEE KEN GRIFFEY JR. On Red Sox star David Ortiz (right)