Former Red Sox players campaign for David Ortiz’s Hall of Fame election

David Ortiz’s former Boston Red Sox teammates are campaigning for his Baseball Hall of Fame election.

Longtime Boston Red Sox superstar David Ortiz is doing well in his first year on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot, but his former teammates are out on the social media campaign trail nonetheless.

On Wednesday, Will Middlebrooks criticized a Boston Globe columnist’s Hall of Fame ballot that only voted for Jeff Kent, and liked several tweets in support of Ortiz’s candidacy, including one from former MLB infielder, Xavier Scruggs:

Then, on Thursday, former Sox catcher Ryan Lavarnway went on MLB Network Radio to talk about his teammate and said, “You have to put David Ortiz in the Hall of Fame.”

Red Sox teammates campaign for David Ortiz

Ortiz spent 20 years in the majors, including 14 with the Red Sox. During his time in Boston, he hit .290/.386/.570 with a .956 OPS over 1,953 games. He finished his career with 541 home runs, 1,419 runs scored, and 1,768 RBI. His 54 home runs in 2006 are a franchise single-season record, and he’s 17th on the MLB all-time home-run list.

His trophy case is overflowing: ALCS MVP, World Series MVP, Home Run Derby champ, seven Silver Sluggers, and three World Series rings. He was elected to ten All-Star games, including nine between 2004-13.

As of Thursday, 162 ballots (~41.3%) have been made public by the Hall of Fame tracker. Ortiz is currently leading all candidates with 83.5%.