COOPERSTOWN, New York – When Edgar Martinez was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2018-19, he became the Cooperstown immortal with the most games played as a designated batsman with a gold plate in the small town of Cooperstown. New York State.
The Puerto Rican legend of the Mariners played 1,403 of their 2,055 Major League games as designated, for 68.27%. The immortals who follow Martinez in this regard are Harold Baines (58.06%), Frank Thomas (56.42%) and Paul Molitor (43.76%).
In 2021-22, David Ortiz will first appear on the North American Baseball Writers Association (BBWAA) newsletter after his retirement in 2016. The Dominican is the all-time leader in the Major league history from the designated place in hits (2,191), homers (485) and pushes (1,569), playing 2,027 of his total of 2,408 matches in the majors in this role, for 88.17% – by far the largest percentage in MLB annals.
So, hopefully Ortiz will be elected, sooner or later, to the Hall of Fame, right?
Everything seems to indicate that yes. The precedent was Martinez, who was elected in his tenth and final chance on the BBWAA ballot in January 2019. If Martinez, with more than two-thirds of his Major League Games as designated, was elected to the Hall, Ortiz would appear to be a fairly safe choice.
In all, Ortiz connected 541 home runs in the majors, with 632 doubles, 1,768 driven, general line of 286 / .380 / 552 (OPS of 931) and OPS + of 141 in a 20-year run. It’s only a matter of time before you have your plate in Cooperstown.
OTHER LATINES TO COOPERSTOWN?
There is a group of Latin Americans whose cases have been complicated in recent years.
Dominican Sammy Sosa will be in his final year on the ballot in December 2021, having received a maximum of just 17% of 75% of the votes needed in his first nine opportunities, due to suspicions of use of substances to increase performance and a tapada Tapada that was found in 2003. his compatriot Manny Ramírez faces a similar situation, with a maximum of 28.2% in his first five opportunities on the ballot following two positive tests for substances prohibited.
For its part, the extortionist Omar Vizquel reached 52.6% in 2020, but fell to 49.1% this year. The off-field complications that have come to light in recent times could be a major obstacle in the six opportunities left to the Venezuelan.
For the period of 2121-22, will debut on the ballot alongside Ortiz Alex Rodriguez, the numbers are overwhelming: A total of 696 homers, 3,115 hits and OPS from 930 to 22 seasons in the Majors. But due to his confessed use of substances to increase performance, plus the Biogenesis lab scandal, it is not known how much support he will receive.
After Big Papi and A-Rod, Carlos Beltrán will debut on the ballot in the period 2022-23. The Puerto Rican numbers would deserve a pick at his first opportunity: 435 fumbles, 1,587 tackles, OPS 837 and a brilliant defense in the center field, for a cumulative WAR of 70.1 (Baseball-Reference version). However, it remains to be seen how voters will respond after the revelation of Beltrán’s role in the signal theft scandal in the 2017 Astres, his last Major League campaign.
Another striking case for 2022-23 will be that of the reliever Francisco Rodríguez. Venezuelan law is fourth in Major League history with a total of 437, in addition to owning the most for a season, 62 in 2008. If Panamanian Mariano Rivera, Trevor Hoffman, Lee Smith and Bruce Sutter are worthy of the Hall — and indeed, they have their plates in Cooperstown — the arguments of the “Kid” will have to be seriously weighed.
Finally, for 2023-24, the Dominicans will see Adrián Beltré (strong arguments), José Bautista, José Reyes and Bartolo Colom, as well as the Mexican Adrián González and the Venezuelan Víctor Martínez.