Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2022 Announced

The Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2022 is set. On Tuesday, it was announced that David Ortiz has been elected to the Hall of Fame on his first ballot. He received 77.9% of the votes, which is more than the 75% needed to earn election. Ortiz will join six other players in the Hall of Fame class. The six players — Bud Fowler, Gil Hodges, Jim Kaat, Minnie Miñoso, Tony Oliva and Buck O’Neil — were voted in by the Era Committee in December. 

“First of all, I really want to thank the baseball writers for giving me the opportunity to be part of this elite group of players. The Hall of Fame is something that I really never dreamed of it,” Ortiz said in a press release. “I was the type of player that I knew I (had) the talent, but all I was looking for was the opportunity to be able to be an everyday player. God, at some point, he came through once I got to the Red Sox and the rest is history.  

✅ All-time DH leader in HR and RBI
✅ 10x All-Star
✅ 3x World Series Champion
✅ 2013 World Series MVP
✅ 7x Silver Slugger Award Winner
✅ Holds @RedSox single-season HR record (54)
✅ Hall of Famer

Congrats, Big Papi! pic.twitter.com/TU4cYkd8Mn

— MLB (@MLB) January 25, 2022

“I feel so thankful and grateful for being able to accomplish what I was able to accomplish and have the career that I had. I always blame it on the fans. The fans got the best out of me. The Red Sox fans, I want to thank all of them very much.” Oritz was the only player to be voted in by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Barry Bonds missed out on the Hall of Fame again as he only received 66% of the votes. The same goes for Roger Clemens, who earned 65.2% of the votes. Both Bonds and Clemens were on the Hall of Fame ballot for the final time. 

The Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place in Cooperstown, New York on Jul. 24. Ortiz is worthy of the induction as he was named an All-Star 10 times in his career. He spent the majority of his career with the Boston Red Sox and helped the team win three World Series. In 2013, Ortiz was named World Series MVP after hitting home runs in Game 1 and Game 2. In his career, Ortiz recorded 2,472 hits with 541 home runs and 1,768 RBIs. 

“I was always concerned about going home without a trophy. And it happened a few times,” Ortiz said. “To be honest with you, I was lucky enough to have the right teammates. I was lucky enough to have the right coaches. I was lucky enough to play for the right organization who got my back all the time. If I was born again, I would like to get the opportunity to play for them again because they educated me not only as a player but they educated me as a human being.”