Thanks for the memories, Papi

David Ortiz was selected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on his first ballot this week, making him the newest Red Sox legend to be enshrined in Cooperstown. To make things sweeter for Ortiz, he will be the only inductee for this years class as he was the only player to reach the 75% vote threshold. The list of Ortiz’s accomplishment is a mile long, but here are five of my favorite moments of his career.

5. 2006 Red Sox HR Record

Ortiz’s postseason heroics are so numerous that there is only room for one regular season moment on this list: September 21, 2006. On that day Ortiz hit his 51^st home run of the season, breaking Jimmie Foxx’s record of 50. He finished the year with 54 homers.

https://www.mlb.com/redsox/video/ortiz-s-record-breaking-home-run-c29878147

4. 2004 ALCS Game 4

The Red Sox completed the greatest comeback in sports history in 2004, coming back from a  3-0 series deficit in the ALCS to beat the Yankees in seven games. The first step in that journey was an Ortiz walk-off home run in the 12^th inning of Game 4.

October 19th, 2004

David Ortiz’s 12th inning walk off to bury the Yanks in Game 4 of the ALCS

Red Sox -145 ML ✅
https://t.co/ORXPZdIPP3

— Barstool Sportsbook (@BSSportsbook) October 5, 2021

3. 2004 ALCS Game 5

Later that same night (Game 4 ended after midnight), Ortiz again delivered a walk-off. This time it was a two-out, two-strike RBI single in the 14^th inning to drive in Johnny Damon. Joe Buck’s call is terrific, and this game changed the narrative from a nice win in Game 4 to a real comeback story heading back to New York.

October 18, 2004

David Ortiz knocks in Johnny Damon with 2 outs in the bottom of the 14th inning as the Red Sox walk-off the Yankees (5-4) in Game 5 of the ALCS

Series is heading back to NY with the Yankees leading 3 games to 2 after being down (3-0)

This can’t happen, can it? pic.twitter.com/aSkmO6kAZA

— Boston Sports Info (@bostonsportsinf) October 18, 2020

2. 2013 ALCS Game 2

This was not a walk-off, and it was only one of two hits Ortiz had all series, but his 8^th inning, two-out Grand Slam in Game 2 against Detroit was monstrous. The Red Sox were down 1-0 in the series and 5-1 in the game. Had the Red sox lost this game, it is likely they would have not reached the World Series and won their third championship of the century.

October 13, 2013

David Ortiz, David Ortiz, David Ortiz smashes a 2-out, game tying Grand Slam to tie the game at 5 in the bottom of the 8th

On the short list of any Sox HR in history

Red Sox would win in the 9th inning on a Saltalamacchia single

ALCS tied at 1 pic.twitter.com/1EBH7TVrK3

— Boston Sports Info (@bostonsportsinf) October 13, 2020

1. 2013 World Series MVP

Ortiz hit .688, yes .688 in the 2013 World Series and won MVP of the series. His performance was legendary and he put the Red Sox on his back to win a championship. Ortiz was a three-time World Series champion and he was great in all three playoff runs, but in 2013 he was on another level. In a career filled with amazing moments, this was the pinnacle.