Did You Know? – Appearances as Designated Hitter

The next appearance David Ortiz makes for the Red Sox as the designated hitter will see him set a new Major League Baseball record for most appearances as a DH.

David Ortiz

Should David Ortiz appear tonight for the Red Sox against the Yankees at Fenway Park as the designated hitter, and by all accounts he will, he will set a new Major League Baseball record for most appearances as a DH with 1644 games, surpassing former slugger Harold Baines. Ortiz already holds the record for most starts in league history by a DH with 1625, well ahead of Baines at 1565 starts.

Big Papi is far and away the leader in most offensive categories as a designated hitter: most plate appearances (7188), most hits (1779), most doubles (450), most home runs (385), and most RBI (1256). Counting only players with at least 2000 plate appearances as a DH, his OPS of .941 ranks second to Edgar Martinez (.959).

Not surprisingly, Ortiz is far and above the leader in franchise history.

  Name No. Games PA
1 David Ortiz 1364 6060
2 Jim Rice 530 2256
3 Carl Yastrzemski 414 1712
4 Reggie Jefferson 305 1173
5 Dwight Evans 265 1110
6 Mike Easler 256 1091
7 Don Baylor 240 1018
8 Manny Ramirez 232 1014
9 Jack Clark 199 845
10 Jose Canseco 185 826

Author: fenfan

Lifelong Boston Red Sox fan, weekend web developer, and badly in need of sleep