David Ortiz is getting a plaque in Cooperstown. Almost 19 years to the day after the Boston Red Sox took a chance on the recently cut slugger from the Minnesota Twins, largely on the word of Pedro Martinez, one of the most important players in the history of the Red Sox franchise is getting his well-deserved spot in the Hall of Fame. Ortiz is going to be the only member of his class to make it into the Hall this year after receiving 77.9 percent of the vote. Here are the full voting results.
It was not a foregone conclusion that Ortiz was going to get over the necessary 75 percent threshold in this vote for a variety of reasons, including the potential for voters to hold his DH-only status against him, or the (tenuous at best) steroid connections from early in his career.