The DH in the MLB has been around since 1973 when Ron Blomberg from the Yankees was the first to hit in a DH spot. It was used for mostly power hitters who weren’t the best fielders and many of them hit in the four spot in their lineup, which is considered the power spot or “cleanup” position. Although they were admired for their powerful hitting, they would be missing a spot in the game of baseball recognition, hence why as of now there are no true DH hitters in the Baseball Hall of Fame. But in a couple years that could change.

In 1997, the Minnesota Twins brought up a future star from the Dominican Republic, a star who would change the perception of the DH forever, David Ortiz.

David Ortiz grew up in the Dominican Republic and went to high school at Estudia Espaillat. Ortiz had a crazy passion for baseball and in 1992 was signed by the Seattle Mariners to a minor league deal. Ortiz played for the Mariners minor league team, the Wisconsin Rattlers, where he went by the name David Arias. In 96’ Ortiz was traded to the Minnesota Twins in a minor league deal and played for them from 1997-2002.

Ortiz didn’t necessarily have the brightest career with the Twins. He went in between the Twins pro team and their minor league affiliate, the New Britain Rock Cats.  Ortiz also suffered a series of injuries while being in Minnesota as he had problems with his wrist along with knee complications. In 2002 the Twins had had enough with Ortiz’s inability to remain healthy. He wasn’t a valuable part to their organization and the Twins originally could not find any team that was willing to trade for him. In his total career with the Twins he had 58 home runs and 238 RBI’s.

In 2003, after being a free agent for quite some time, the Boston Red Sox signed David Ortiz, which will go down as one of their biggest moves as an organization in their 115 year history. In his first year with the organization Ortiz was primarily a pinch hitter and was a spot starter at the DH position. Later on in the 2003 season, Ortiz became the Sox full-time DH. After the move by their current manager at the time, Grady Little, Ortiz seemed to get hot instantly. By the end of the season, Ortiz had 31 home runs along with 101 RBIs. By the end of the year he finished fifth in the AL MVP voting.

In 2004 Red Sox fans were hungry for a world series title. They were in a similar situation compared to what the Cubs are in today as the Red Sox had not won the World Series in 86 years. Terry Francona brought together a team of all around talent and David Ortiz was one of their most valuable players.  He hit 41 home runs along with 139 RBIs and maintained a .301 batting average. In the postseason, Ortiz was a large part of the Four Days in October, their epic comeback from they fell behind the Yankees 3-0 and came back to win the series 4-3. After their thrilling ALCS victory, they eventually went on to defeat the Saint Louis Cardinals in the World Series, winning the Commissioner’s Trophy for the first time since 1918. The Ortiz Era had officially begun in Boston.

Ortiz continued to put up MVP caliber numbers as his career went on. In 2006 Ortiz hit a career-high 54 home runs and 137 RBIs. In the following season, Ortiz led the Sox to their seventh World Series title. In 2011 Ortiz became the fifth Red Sox player to hit 300 home runs in their career.

2013 was one of the most historic years of his career. On April 15th of 2013 during the Boston Marathon, two bombs went off in the crowd killing three and injuring many. This was one of the worst attacks the city of Boston had seen. Following the attack, Boston was looking for hope and where better to find it then Fenway Park. Before the Sox’s April 20th game Ortiz declared to Boston that it was there “f**king city”, words that would stay with Ortiz forever. Led by Ortiz’s strength, Boston rebounded from the brutal attack and made a run all the way to the 2013 World Series, defeating the Saint Louis Cardinals 4 games to 2, proving that Boston was truly “Boston Strong”.

In 2016 David Ortiz announced that he would retire at the end of the 2016 season. This was one of Ortiz’s best seasons in the majors as he hit 38 home runs, 127 RBIs and had a batting average of .315. During the Sox final home game at Fenway Park on October 2nd, the Red Sox announced they would retire Ortiz’s number, 34, capping off one of the best DH careers in MLB history. In just a few years, you will see Ortiz’s name on the Hall Of Fame Ballot. Truly an honor that he deserves to have.