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BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — David Ortiz officially entered the Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame Tuesday night.
Ortiz ended with 541 homeruns in his 20 year career and won 3 World Series Championships with the Red Sox, batting in 455 of those games.
The MLB Hall of Fame announced that Ortiz is part of the class of 2022 in his first year of eligibility, making the cut with 77.9% of the vote.
The Boston Red Sox issued a statement on behalf of Ortiz on Tuesday.
“I am truly honored and blessed by my selection to the Hall of Fame—the highest honor that any baseball player can reach in their lifetime. I am grateful to the baseball writers who considered my career in its totality, not just on the statistics, but also on my contributions to the Red Sox, the City of Boston, and all of Red Sox Nation. I am also grateful to my teammates, my managers and coaches and Red Sox ownership for their faith in me and allowing me to be part of three World Championships."
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Ortiz said that as a young boy from Santo Domingo, he always dreamed of playing professional baseball, accrediting his success to the encouragement from his family, which enabled him to ascend his game into the big leagues.
Ortiz also thanked fellow Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez, who he said convinced the Red Sox to take on Ortiz. The 14 years Ortiz played for Boston were the "best of my life," he said.
"We broke the curse and then got two more championships before I retired in 2016—what a sweet and beautiful journey it has been," Ortiz said.
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