Red Sox: Where David Ortiz ranks in franchise, MLB history
A reflection on where designated hitter David Ortiz stands in the history of the Boston Red Sox, as well as Major League Baseball.
Welcome to David Ortiz week! With the Boston Red Sox set to retire No. 34 at Fenway Park this Friday, we’re dedicating the days leading up to the ceremony to the iconic slugger.
To kick things off, let’s reflect on the staggering numbers that Ortiz produced over his 20 seasons in the big leagues. Not only will he be remembered as one of the greatest hitters in Red Sox history, he’s arguably the best player to fill the designated hitter role on a regular basis in major league history.
That’s no small task. While being relegated primarily to DH duty held Ortiz back in all-encompassing stats such as WAR and certainly cost him some MVP votes over the years, it’s not as easy as he often made it look. It takes a certain mindset to be a DH. Some players struggle to adapt to the role, feeling too detached from the game while spending most of it on the bench to be able to focus when the time comes to step up to the plate.
Not the case for Ortiz, who mastered the art of being a DH. Being considered among the best to ever play your position – any position – is a tremendous accomplishment.
How does Ortiz stack up to other hitters from a historical perspective? We’ll examine his place in franchise history based on the numbers he put up in a Red Sox uniform as well as where his overall career numbers rank in MLB history. Let’s not forget those postseason accomplishments either.
Red Sox History
Ortiz spent 14 seasons in Boston after the Red Sox scooped him up off the free agent scrap heap in 2003. It wouldn’t take long for him to make the Minnesota Twins regret giving up on him. Ortiz set new career-highs in virtually every offensive category that season to finish fifth in MVP voting.
This is where the legend of Big Papi was born.
As impressive as he was in that first season in Boston, Ortiz was merely getting started. He would go on to rack up numbers that rival the best hitters in franchise history.
When comparing Ortiz’ numbers in Boston to others who wore a Red Sox uniform, I’m excluding anyone who fell short of 1500 plate appearances. Sorry, but if you didn’t see enough playing time to account for essentially three seasons with the franchise then you can’t be considered among the all-time great Red Sox players.
Here are the career numbers for Ortiz with the Red Sox, with his franchise rank in parenthesis.
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Batting Average: .290 (30th)
On-Base Percentage: .386 (13th)
Slugging: .570 (4th)
Home Runs: 483 (2nd)
RBI: 1530 (3rd)
Runs: 1204 (5th)
wOBA: .400 (6th)
wRC+: 146 (5th)
WAR (FanGraphs): 48.2 (8th)
MLB History
Twins fans would like to forget that their team once pushed Ortiz out the door, but we can’t forget about the numbers he accumulated during his time in Minnesota. They still count when determining his place in MLB history.
For his career numbers we’ll use the same 1500 plate appearance benchmark to eliminate hitters who have produced great stats in brief careers. His MLB historical ranking is in parenthesis, followed by any seasons in which he led the American League in that category.
Batting Average: .286 (546th)
On-Base Percentage: .380 (185th), 6 top-10 finishes (1st in 2007 – .445)
Slugging: .552 (25th), 11 top-10 finishes (1st in 2016 – .620)
Home Runs: 541 (17th), 9 top-10 finishes (1st in 2006 – 54)
RBI: 1768 (22nd), 9 top-10 finishes (1st in 2005 – 148, 1st in 2006 – 137, 1st in 2016 – 127)
Runs: 1419 (89th), 3 top-10 finishes.
wOBA: .392 (114th)
wRC+: 140 (65th)
WAR (FanGraphs): 50.5 (181st)
Postseason
As phenomenal as Ortiz was during the regular season, October was where he truly shined.
More from David Ortiz
- David Ortiz wants Red Sox to target top free-agent pitcher Justin Verlander
- Drug lord connected to David Ortiz shooting pleads guilty to drug charges
- Tom Brady, Bucs’ recent struggles should make Red Sox fans grateful for how David Ortiz retired
- David Ortiz’s NLCS antics are the ultimate Boston betrayal
- David Ortiz shades Red Sox in NLCS conversation with Kyle Schwarber
Ortiz hit .289/.404/.543 in 85 career postseason games, 76 of which came with the Red Sox.
He was one of the main contributors to the 2004 championship team that ended an 86 year title drought for the franchise. Big Papi would help deliver two more World Series trophies to Boston, earning him a total of three rings in his career. That included a memorable 2013 run culminating in Ortiz being named as the World Series MVP.
Nine of his 20 major league seasons ended with a trip to the postseason, including eight of 14 in Boston. In fairness, many all-time greats played in previous eras without the playoff structure that we’re used to. Back in the day, the teams with the top record in each league faced off in the World Series. Not only is it easier for teams to now reach the postseason, once they qualify there is the potential to play in significantly more playoff games than players from other eras had the opportunity for.
While the era he played in had a hand in Ortiz piling up postseason numbers, it remains impressive how many categories he ranks highly in historically.
At-Bats: 304 (10th)
Plate Appearances: 369 (9th)
Runs Scored (Career): 51 (9th)
Runs Scored (Single-Season): 16 in 2007 (5th)
Hits (Career): 88 (10th)
Doubles (Career): 22 (4th)
Total Bases (Career): 165 (5th)
Total Bases (Single-Season): 42 in 2004 (10th)
Home Runs (Career): 17 (7th)
RBI (Career): 61 (4th)
RBI (Single-Season): 19 in 2004 (2nd)
Walks (Career): 59 (7th)
Walks (Single-Season): 16 in 2013 (4th), 14 in 2007 (7th), 13 in 2004 (10th)
Career Accolades
The career accomplishments of Ortiz can’t simply be boiled down to numbers. That production has earned him some hardware and prestigious honors along the way.
Ortiz never won a regular season MVP award, in part due to the bias against the DH. He did finish in the top-10 in AL MVP voting seven times. Big Papi also finished in the top-5 in each season from 2003-2007, finishing as high as second in 2005.
Here are some other highlights that Ortiz earned.
All-Star appearances: 10 (2004-2008, 2010-2013, 2016)
Silver Slugger: 7 (2004-2007, 2011, 2013, 2016)
Player of the Month: 4 (September 2005, July 2006, September 2007, May 2010)
World Series Championships: 3 (2004, 2007, 2013)
World Series MVP: 1 (2013)
AL ALCS MVP: 1 (2004)
That’s quite a career. Pile it all up and there’s no doubting that Ortiz is among the top hitters in Red Sox history and a deserving candidate to have his number retired.
Next: What if Clemens never left Boston?
Check back all week long for more content on David Ortiz leading up to Friday’s number retirement ceremony at Fenway!