Thoughts on David Ortiz

Let's get theoretical here. Hypothetically, let's say Big Papi is done. For the rest of this year, and probably next, plays as horribly as he is doing now, and then decides to retire, because, let's face it, Ortiz has too much pride to hang on by a thread. But he's batting .220 with a .650 OPS right now and zero home runs, and things aren't looking up.

Then the question comes: does David Ortiz belong in the Hall of Fame? He only has 289 home runs on his 13 year career, with a .285 career average, with around 1300-1400 career hits. Doesn't seem like a Hall-of-Famer by raw numbers, does he?

But sometimes you have to factor in other contributions to the game. In the postseason, he has 12 Home Runs and a .293 average in 63 games. He has 4 All-Star appearances, as well as 4 silver sluggers, and a 2nd place finish in 2005. Most impressively, he led the AL in extra base hits 3 times.

Certainly, his case must be put in context for his time. For a power hitter, his total numbers are dwarfed by every other hitter of this generation. But then again, he was arguably the most feared hitter (not the best, but it was hard to argue who pitchers wanted to face less in the ninth inning than Ortiz) in the game for an approximate stretch of 2002-2007. But on the other hand, he was a DH, meaning he only played half (two-thirds in the opinion of many new statisticians) of the game.

I can go back and forth on this for 1000 more words at least. In my opinion, as he stands at 34 years of age, that he belongs in those hallowed halls. His peak was just too narrow, like the pitcher Bret Saberhagen, or the hitter Howard Johnson. The best comparable I can place to him is Mo Vaughn, who's heavy build betrayed him, ruining his ability to hit at the end of his career. If Mo doesn't make, neither should Papi.

I wish there was a Hall of some-sorts for the players who were historically great, but didn't have the longevity needed for the Hall-of-Fame. A place where Saberhagen, HoJo, Roger Maris, Mo Vaughn, Keith Hernandez, Orel Hershiser, etc can be honored for their great careers.