2022 HOF Candidates: Ortiz and Papelbon First Time on Ballot

Pandarama

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I’m not sure if others will remember, but there was a time circa 2009 (I think) when Ortiz was struggling. His first half of the year was abysmal even by average DH standards. I remember him facing AJ Burnett and smoking a fastball on the inside corner and saying out loud, “I honestly didn’t think he was capable of turning on that pitch anymore.” He proved me wrong, then continued to prove me wrong for another 7 seasons.
Yes, there was a time when he wasn't hitting well enough to play catcher. There was a time when Theo Epstein said in a press conference, “If he’s going to be the D.H. on this team, we need him to be a force.” Tito once sent Mike Lowell to the plate to hit for him. (Glad he got his groove back.)
 

Minneapolis Millers

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I’m not sure if others will remember, but there was a time circa 2009 (I think) when Ortiz was struggling. His first half of the year was abysmal even by average DH standards. I remember him facing AJ Burnett and smoking a fastball on the inside corner and saying out loud, “I honestly didn’t think he was capable of turning on that pitch anymore.” He proved me wrong, then continued to prove me wrong for another 7 seasons.
Didn’t Papi credit Gonzalez at that time for hitting advice, e.g. letting the ball travel and go oppo as a way of attacking?
 

amh03

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Took this October 10th, 2016 -

48774

So happy with this news!!
 

E5 Yaz

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Damn ... Jacoby Ellsbury is eligible to be on the 2023 ballot
 

Rob Bergurson

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This is amazing. I was at work tonight when I heard about this and started to cry a bit. Last week I lost my best friend in the same way. Been a really tough week and to get some amazing news like this just helped so much. Congrats David you more then earned this.
 

PedroKsBambino

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I mean, the guy killed the Yankees. For my entire childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood out here on the front lines of baseball's holy war, all I heard was Ruth, all their wins, and all our losses. They were up here, we were down there. 34 ended that. He fucking stopped it cold. Mystique, aura: gone. Now we win. Thank you Papi.
For me as well—and no doubt the source of CHB’s hate—David Ortiz is the single person who most killed the Yankee mystique.
 

Tokyo Sox

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Hildy

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I could sit here and attempt to list all the ways I love David Ortiz, writing some purple prose about what he meant to me, with the subtext being that I remember his presence with a more righteous intensity than others do. But that would miss the beauty and legacy of Big Papi's career, I think. In fact, it would miss the very purpose of sports.

Why do we watch? Escapism, tribalism, inspiration. To celebrate excellence. To connect; to feel like it's us on that field, and more significantly, to share the same feelings with everyone in the stands or those bathing in the glow of flat screens across a loosely defined geographic area. Suddenly your job doesn't seem so rote or that relationship so rocky, there isn't that yawning uncertainty about why you're here and what it's all for, it's all played out on the field and you're locked into that rollercoaster with everybody else that you know or care about, some of whom you've met only because you watch, you've always watched and you seek the company of others who have as well. Maybe you even write about it on message boards or social media.

Newly-minted Hall of Famer David Ortiz made people's lives incalculably better. He is the very distillation of why we watch: He made the impossible possible. He made us brothers and sisters. And most importantly, he calmed that inner voice that fears the flicker of hope; it's so easy to laugh that hopefulness away, to piss on it as a means of self-defense, but he justified its existence and made us embrace the humanity that requires us to care enough -- and to have faith enough -- to hope.
Just wanted to thank you for this beautiful piece of writing. Was already a little verklempt and then read this.
 

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Stu-Pid

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As a UK based Red Sox fan I’ve only been to Fenway once, and in fact only seen the Red Sox play in person once. It was September 2005 against the Angels and of course David Ortiz hit a walk-off home run. Thank you Big Papi for the memory of that night, and for all the other amazing memories.

View: https://youtu.be/PJZ5MfNKuLU
 

ObstructedView

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This thread is the perfect antidote to all the national media bloviating about the guys who didn't make it in, and how Ortiz's numbers stack up against one in particular. It's a shame that has to be such a big part of the story, but Papi will have his day in July - and it's pretty cool that it will truly be HIS day alone.
 

Max Power

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This thread is the perfect antidote to all the national media bloviating about the guys who didn't make it in, and how Ortiz's numbers stack up against one in particular. It's a shame that has to be such a big part of the story, but Papi will have his day in July - and it's pretty cool that it will truly be HIS day alone.
What do you have planned for Jim Kaat and Tony Oliva?
 

azsoxpatsfan

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What’s the ticket situation? Do you need them to get into the ceremony, and if so where can I buy them? I couldn’t find any info on the Hall website
 

Rubber Match

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Jan 20, 2022
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David Ortiz being inducted to the Hall of Fame gives us something to be excited about during the doldrums of a New England winter (in the midst of a lockout nonetheless). It being the first ballot is a very sweet cherry on top. Thank you, Big Papi, for the clutch hits and championships.

P.S. Big Papi has been a Hall of Fame nickname since its inception, courtesy of Jerry Remy. Thankfully it too will be immortalized in Cooperstown.
 

Ale Xander

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What’s the ticket situation? Do you need them to get into the ceremony, and if so where can I buy them? I couldn’t find any info on the Hall website
big giant grass field, free, general admission for the unwashed masses, FCFS etc

At least it was in 2015 unless i am misremembering
 

rockchalkredsox

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Oct 31, 2013
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What’s the ticket situation? Do you need them to get into the ceremony, and if so where can I buy them? I couldn’t find any info on the Hall website
I believe attending the ceremony is free but you're not guaranteed any specific spot. As was mentioned upthread, there are packages that get you reserved seating for the ceremony, which I assume are much closer than the general seating area, but the link to the packages is currently broken. For $500 you can become a President's Circle HoF member and it guarantees you two reserved seats for the induction ceremony and you can reserve advanced tickets to tour the museum before they're open to the public (which is currently showing availability to the public thru the end of April). https://baseballhall.org/support-the-hall/become-a-member
 

azsoxpatsfan

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big giant grass field, free, general admission for the unwashed masses, FCFS etc

At least it was in 2015 unless i am misremembering
I believe attending the ceremony is free but you're not guaranteed any specific spot. As was mentioned upthread, there are packages that get you reserved seating for the ceremony, which I assume are much closer than the general seating area, but the link to the packages is currently broken. For $500 you can become a President's Circle HoF member and it guarantees you two reserved seats for the induction ceremony and you can reserve advanced tickets to tour the museum before they're open to the public (which is currently showing availability to the public thru the end of April). https://baseballhall.org/support-the-hall/become-a-member
Perfect, thanks!
 

Minneapolis Millers

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I have no idea why, but this got me laughing out loud.
It is a poignant reminder that as Papi was helping us beat the Yankees, the Twins were losing to them. Every year, basically. A Twins team with Mauer, Morneau, and Ortiz (with Santana and Nathan) probably gets past them. At least once! But hey, them’s the breaks…
 

SidInOC

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Jul 16, 2005
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Baseball is in a lockout with an uncertain future. We are in the worst pandemic in a century with an uncertain future. Our politics are FUBAR with an uncertain future. Anxieties abound.

And then Big Papi comes up with another clutch hit to restore optimism.

I am old enough to have seen Ted Williams play, to have seen Mel Parnell do battle with Joe D., to have been thrilled by Yaz, and to see Pedro pitch like a demigod. But no baseball player has made me feel so good as David Ortiz. Thanks and Congratulations Big Papi.
 

Mueller's Twin Grannies

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Not to turn the page already by any means, but who will be the next Red Sox player to be inducted (e.g., goes in with a Boston cap) by the ballot vote? I don't see Manny going in, though he may have the best chance at this point. Schilling (who, arguably, could have gone in as a Diamondback or with a blank cap) and Papelbon are off the ballot after this year. Adrian Beltré has a strong chance, but it won't be in a Boston cap; neither will Billy Wagner if he gets in. Some have wondered about Lester (though he could go in as a Cub or with no cap) and Pedroia, but both are borderline at best by consensus. Who else does that leave? Are we looking at a long stretch of no new Boston players in Cooperstown? Will we have to wait for someone like Bogaerts to retire? Or Devers? With the dearth of 200-game winners on the ballots in the upcoming years, will the criteria for pitchers change so that a guy like Sale gets in even with the couple of lost seasons?
 

Fred not Lynn

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My best bet for next no-brainer Red Sox Hall of Famer is probably Mookie Betts, but he’ll be as Red Sox as Babe Ruth by then…
 

amRadio

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Chris Sale seems like the best bet at the moment for the next plaque with a B on it. Already racked up 46 bWAR, career 3.03 ERA, currently has the best K:BB ratio of all time. If he retired today, the Hall would put a White Sox logo on his cap, but by the time he's done playing that likely won't be the case.

I think Xander has a long and very outside shot at the hall, but his 30's will need to be great.
 

Mueller's Twin Grannies

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I wonder if Sale would have a sub-3.00 career ERA if not for his Jekyll and Hyde year before he got TJS? Hopefully this year he can bring it back under. He probably is the only one right now that can start thinking about what he might wear to the MLB Network special on announcement day.
 

Daniel_Son

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Marcelo Mayer.

Just kidding. I don't think X gets in unless he really turns it on the next few years or maintains his 4.2WAR/162 pace into his late 30s. Devers is too young to make a realistic call, but my gut says no as well - not the best 3B in the league, and defensive deficiencies means he's not long for the position either. Maybe he ends up north of 500 home runs, who knows. And don't get me wrong - both are fantastic players, and I hope they both have long and storied careers in Boston.

I think Sale is the best bet on the traditional 10-year ballot. What does everyone think of Kimbrel?
 

Ale Xander

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Marcelo Mayer.

Just kidding. I don't think X gets in unless he really turns it on the next few years or maintains his 4.2WAR/162 pace into his late 30s. Devers is too young to make a realistic call, but my gut says no as well - not the best 3B in the league, and defensive deficiencies means he's not long for the position either. Maybe he ends up north of 500 home runs, who knows. And don't get me wrong - both are fantastic players, and I hope they both have long and storied careers in Boston.

I think Sale is the best bet on the traditional 10-year ballot. What does everyone think of Kimbrel?
If Kimbrel gets in, he’s in as a Brave

both more years and better performance (4 straight years of leading the league in saves and better era/whip/fip numbers too)

never led the league here
 

EpsteinsGorillaSuit

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Not to turn the page already by any means, but who will be the next Red Sox player to be inducted (e.g., goes in with a Boston cap) by the ballot vote? I don't see Manny going in, though he may have the best chance at this point. Schilling (who, arguably, could have gone in as a Diamondback or with a blank cap) and Papelbon are off the ballot after this year. Adrian Beltré has a strong chance, but it won't be in a Boston cap; neither will Billy Wagner if he gets in. Some have wondered about Lester (though he could go in as a Cub or with no cap) and Pedroia, but both are borderline at best by consensus. Who else does that leave? Are we looking at a long stretch of no new Boston players in Cooperstown? Will we have to wait for someone like Bogaerts to retire? Or Devers? With the dearth of 200-game winners on the ballots in the upcoming years, will the criteria for pitchers change so that a guy like Sale gets in even with the couple of lost seasons?
Mookie Betts... but probably not with a Red Sox cap.