David Ortiz

Date of birth: 18 November 1975
Primary position: Designated Hitter

Elected to Red Sox Hall of Fame: 2020

Career Batting Statistics through 2018 Season

SeasonABRHHRRBIBBSBAVG
20034487912931101580.288
20045829417541139750.301
2005601119180471481021.300
2006558115160541371191.287
2007549116182351171113.332
2008416741102389701.264
2009541771292899740.238
20105188614032102820.270
2011525841622996781.309
2012324651032360560.318
20135188416030103764.309
20145185913635104750.263
20155287314437108770.273
20165377916938127802.315
TOTAL7163120420794831530113313.290

Awards and Recognition with Boston

AL Championhip Series MVP Award, 2004
AL Hank Aaron Award, 2005
AL Hank Aaron Award, 2016
Babe Ruth Award, 2013
Home Run Champion (54), 2006
RBI Champion (148), 2005
RBI Champion (137), 2006
RBI Champion (127), 2016
RBI Champion (127), 2016
Roberto Clemente Award, 2011
Silver Slugger Award (DH), 2004
Silver Slugger Award (DH), 2005
Silver Slugger Award (DH), 2006
Silver Slugger Award (DH), 2011
Silver Slugger Award (DH), 2013
Silver Slugger Award (DH), 2016
World Series MVP Award, 2013

Memorable Moments for David Ortiz

  • 22 January 2003 - Released by the Minnesota Twins, David Ortiz finds a new home as he signs with the Red Sox.
  • 8 October 2004 - David Ortiz takes the first pitch from Jarrod Washburn in the tenth inning and plants it into the Monster Seats at Fenway Park as Boston wins 8-6 over Anaheim and sweeps the best-of-five division series.
  • 17 October 2004 - Boston staves off elimination thanks to the heroics of Dave Roberts and David Ortiz in a 6-4 Red Sox win over the Yankees in Game Four of the ALCS. Roberts' steal of second base allows him to come home on Bill Mueller's single up the middle in the bottom of the ninth to tie the score, at Ortiz wins it with a two-run home run in the 12th inning.
  • 18 October 2004 - Less than 24 hours after forcing a fifth game in the series, David Ortiz hits his second consecutive walk-off hit, driving home Johnny Damon from second with a bloop single in the 14th inning as Boston wins 5-4 over New York. The Red Sox had rallied late to tie the score at four with two runs in the eighth, including a solo home run from Ortiz.
  • 20 October 2004 - Boston rebounds from an 0-3 series deficit and clobbers New York 10-3 at Yankee Stadium for the club's first pennant in 18 years. Johnny Damon hits two home runs, David Ortiz hits his third of the series, and Derek Lowe earns the win by allowing just one run on one hit in six innings of work. The Red Sox become the first team to ever rally from an 0-3 playoff series deficit in Major League Baseball history.
  • 2 June 2005 - David Ortiz takes Orioles closer B.J. Ryan deep to center field in the ninth inning at Fenway Park to give Boston a walk-off 6-4 win.
  • 14 November 2005 - Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez wins the American League MVP award as Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz finishes a close second in the balloting.
  • 17 April 2006 - Mark Loretta hits a walk-off, two-run home run on Patriots' Day at Fenway Park as Boston beats Seattle, 7-6. David Ortiz also provide some fireworks with two home runs of his own.
  • 31 July 2006 - For the second time in three days, designated hitter David Ortiz hits a game-winning hit, this time a three-run home run in the ninth inning, as Boston beats Cleveland, 9-8. It marked the fourth time this season and the 12th time in his Red Sox career that Ortiz had ended a game with a walk-off hit. Ortiz also ties a club record with his 14th home run for the month.
  • 21 September 2006 - David Ortiz surpasses former Red Sox slugger Jimmie Foxx with his 51st and 52nd home run of the season in a 6-0 shutout over the Twins at Fenway Park. "Big Papi" would finish the season with a club-record 54 home runs.
  • 30 April 2008 - For the second game in a row, Boston beats Toronto with a ninth-inning, two-out base hit that scores the winning run; catcher Jason Varitek singles home Manny Ramirez to give the Sox a 2-1 win one day after Kevin Youkilis plates David Ortiz in a 1-0 victory over the Blue Jays.
  • 16 October 2008 - Down 7-0 with two outs in the seventh, Boston stages the largest comeback in a American League playoff game, winning 8-7 over Tampa Bay in Game Five of the ALCS thanks in part to home runs from David Ortiz and J.D. Drew. The game ends when Drew's ground-rule double scores Kevin Youkilis from second base with two outs in the ninth.
  • 15 September 2009 - David Ortiz sets a new mark for home runs hit by a designated hitter as number 270 leaves the playing field at Fenway Park of a 4-1 win for Boston over Los Angeles at Fenway Park. His eighth-inning blast against the Angels allows him to surpass Frank Thomas for most all-time at that position.
  • 12 July 2010 - David Ortiz wins the 2010 All-Star Home Run Derby over former Red Sox farm hand Hanley Ramirez. Ortiz totals 32 home runs on the evening, including 11 in the final round to easily win the crown.
  • 19 May 2011 - Carl Crawford ends a 4-3 Red Sox win over the Tigers with a walk-off hit, his third this month. On 01 May, he hits a ground-ball single up the middle to plate Jed Lowrie; on 09 May, he doubles off the Green Monster to plate pinch-runner Jose Iglesias from first. Tonight, he lines a single over the center fielder, who was playing shallow because the Sox had the bases loaded with only one out to plate David Ortiz.
  • 27 July 2011 - David Ortiz hits his tenth career grand slam in a 12-5 win over the Royals at Fenway Park. The slam brings Big Papi's RBI total with the Red Sox to 1,000, only the fifth player in team history with at least 1,000 RBI in a Boston uniform.
  • 20 October 2011 - Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz is named as the recipient of the 2011 Roberto Clemente Award in recognition for his David Ortiz Children's Fund, dedicated to raising funds to provide children access to critical pediatric care in the Dominican and the United States. His recognition comes one year after teammate Tim Wakefield is the first Red Sox player to receive the award.
  • 6 May 2012 - Both the Red Sox and Orioles use position players to pitch in a 17-inning contest at Fenway Park, with Baltimore winning 9-6. Chris Davis, who started the game as the DH, throws two scoreless innings for the win, while Darnell McDonald, who entered as a pinch runner for David Ortiz in the eighth, is saddled with the loss. It is the first game since 1925 in which both teams employ position players as pitchers.
  • 4 July 2012 - David Ortiz launches career home run number 400, but the Red Sox lose 3-2 to the Athletics in Oakland. He becomes just the 49th player in baseball history to hit at least 400 home runs.
  • 16 July 2012 - David Ortiz goes 1-for-3 with a walk in a 5-1 Red Sox win over the White Sox at Fenway Park. It is the tenth consecutive game that Ortiz has had at least one hit and one walk, the first Red Sox player since at least 1918 to manage such a streak.
  • 20 April 2013 - In the first game at Fenway Park since the Boston Marathon bombing, Daniel Nava hits a three-run home run in the eighth inning and the Red Sox win 4-3 over the Royals. In pregame ceremonies, David Ortiz, who had missed the first two weeks of the season due to injury, amps up the crowd by stating: "This is our f**king city, and no one is going to dictate our freedom. Stay strong!"
  • 6 June 2013 - David Ortiz lines a pitch into the visitor's bullpen for a three-run, walk-off home run at Fenway Park to give the Red Sox a 6-3 win over the Angels. It is Big Papi's 11th career walk-off home run, his tenth with Boston, and his first since 2009; it is also his 19th career walk-off hit, 16 of those with the Sox.
  • 27 July 2013 - The Red Sox win 7-3 over the Orioles in Baltimore as Stephen Drew homers twice and ties a career-high with five RBI. David Ortiz, after striking out in the seventh inning following what he perceives as a bad call on a 3-0 pitch, destroys the dugout phone with his bat, then proceeds to curse out home plate umpire Tim Timmons.
  • 4 September 2013 - After a scoreless bottom of the first, the Red Sox score in every other inning of a 20-4 win over the Tigers at Fenway Park. David Ortiz collects his 2,000 hit with a sixth-inning double.
  • 13 October 2013 - Five outs from going down 0-2 in the American League Championship Series, the Red Sox rally to win 6-5 over the Tigers at Fenway Park in Game Two of the American League Championship Series. David Ortiz ties the game in the eighth with a grand slam into the Red Sox bullpen, then Jarrod Saltalamacchia wins it in the ninth with a walk-off single to plate Jonny Gomes.
  • 28 October 2013 - Jon Lester allows just four hits over 7-2/3 innings of work as the Red Sox win Game Five of the World Series 3-1 over the Cardinals at Busch Stadium to take a 3-2 series lead. Koji Uehara retires the last four batters to earn his seventh save of the postseason. With a hit in the fourth inning, David Ortiz ties a World Series record by reaching base in nine consecutive plate appearances.
  • 30 October 2013 - Led by Shane Victorino's three-run double and a solid start from John Lackey, the Red Sox win their third championship in ten years with a 6-1 win over the Cardinals in Game Six of the World Series at Fenway Park. David Ortiz, the only player left from the 2004 championship team, easily secures MVP honors. It is the first series Boston has celebrated a championship at home since 1918.
  • 24 April 2014 - David Ortiz sets a new high water mark for designated hitters with his career 1644th appearance as a DH. Unfortunately, the Red Sox defense commits five errors, the most in a single game since 2001, while Boston pitchers combine for 12 walks, three wild pitches, and a passed ball in a 14-5 loss to the Yankees at Fenway Park.
  • 2 May 2014 - Second baseman Dustin Pedroia hits his 100th career home run, a grand slam off of Athletics pitcher Ryan Cook, as Boston wins 7-1 over Oakland at Fenway Park. Pedroia becomes the third Red Sox player behind Mo Vaughn and David Ortiz to reach the milestone with a grand slam and the second player in team history behind Carl Yastrzemski to reach 100 home runs and 100 stolen bases.
  • 6 September 2015 - The Red Sox finish a sweep of the Phillies with a 6-2 win at home. David Ortiz becomes the fourth player in history to hit at least 200 home runs at Fenway Park, joining Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, and Jim Rice.
  • 12 September 2015 - At Tampa, David Ortiz hits career home runs number 499 and 500, becoming the 27th player in major league history to reach that mark, in a 7-4 win for the Red Sox over the Rays. He is also the fourth player to reach the mark in a Boston uniform, joining Jimmie Foxx, Ted Williams, and Manny Ramirez.
  • 5 April 2016 - Playing in what he promises will be his last season, David Ortiz goes 2-for-4 with a home run, the fifth Opening Day game in which he has done so, as the Red Sox open the season with a 6-2 win over the Indians in Cleveland. The two teams had planned to open the season a day earlier, but the game was postponed due to severe cold, with a reported wind chill of just 18 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • 22 May 2016 - David Ortiz goes 4-for-4 with two doubles and a home run in a 5-2 Red Sox win over the Indians at Fenway Park. It is the 22nd consecutive game in which Boston has hit at least one home run in the game, a franchise record. The streak ends the following day despite a final score of 9-1 in favor of the Red Sox.
  • 30 September 2016 - David Ortiz hits the last home run of his career, a line drive two-run shot to right, at Fenway Park in Boston's eventual 5-3 win over Toronto. The blast gives Big Papi 541 for his career; it is also his 62nd home run against the Blue Jays, the most against any team.
  • 10 October 2016 - The Red Sox fall 4-3 to the Indians in Game Three of the ALDS and are thus eliminated from playoff contention. It also marks the final game of in the career of David Ortiz, who comes back onto the field after Cleveland celebrates its series-clinching win and tips his cap to the remaining fans, who had been chanting "Thank you, Papi!" and "One More Year!" since the game's end.
  • 23 June 2017 - The Red Sox retire David Ortiz's number eight ahead of a 9-4 win over the Angels at Fenway Park. A day earlier, the city of Boston had recognized the 2013 World Series MVP and future Hall of Famer by renaming Yawkey Way Extension, across from Yawkey Way off Brookline Avenue, David Ortiz Drive.