Is David Ortiz a first-ballot Hall of Famer?

Oct 16, 2013; Detroit, MI, USA; Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz (34) during batting practice prior to game four of the American League Championship Series baseball game against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports /

There has never been a designated hitter as effective as David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox.

Granted, the DH wasn’t instituted until 1973, but in four decades, no one has come up in the clutch with their bat more consistently and in bigger situations than ‘Big Papi.’

At age 37, Ortiz hit .309 with 30 home runs and 103 RBIs this season for the Red Sox, leading the team back to the World Series after a dismal 69-93 2012 campaign.

He has 431 career home runs, which ranks 45th on baseball’s all-time list. He’s driven in over 1,400 runs and is a career .287 hitter. He’s a nine-time All-Star, a five-time Silver Slugger recipient, and a two-time World Series champion.

David Ortiz is the lone holdover from the 2004 Red Sox club that broke the ‘Curse of the Bambino’, sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series. Now, we get to see Round Two. And you can bet that Ortiz will come up in a clutch situation. Odds are, he’ll deliver.

In 76 career postseason games, Ortiz has hit .272 with 15 home runs and 54 RBIs. Step it up a notch and look at just World Series games, and the left-handed slugger hit a robust .321 with one home run and 8 RBIs.

If Papi and the bearded bandits of the Red Sox can pull off a third World Series title, not only will they be reclaiming their place among baseball’s elite teams, but they could very well be punching Ortiz a one-way ticket to Cooperstown.

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