On July 24, former Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.
The honor is well deserved, as his on-field accomplishments (three-time World Series champion, World Series MVP, 10-time All-Star, 541 home runs) are well documented, but perhaps the most impressive thing Ortiz was able to accomplish in his illustrious career was transforming the Red Sox from loveable losers, to the gold standard.
Ortiz arrived in Boston in January 2003 as a player who was viewed as a depth piece on a team that had failed to make the postseason the year prior. He left as the most decorated champion in Red Sox history and a future Hall of Famer -- while simultaneously turning the Red Sox into one of baseball's most feared franchises.
In other words, Ortiz left the Red Sox better than he found them, but how was he able to do that? Well, there are three words that can describe both Ortiz as a player and the way in which he helped change Boston's culture.
Clutch
The magical element behind David Ortiz was always the bat, and continued to be that way throughout his career.
Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that Ortiz was the most clutch hitter in the history of baseball, finishing his career with 23 walk-off hits -- which is four more than the next closest player.
Without his pair of walk-off hits against the New York Yankees in Game 4 and 5 of the 2004 ALCS, the Red Sox's curse-breaking World Series win likely doesn't happen. But it wasn't just walk-offs. Who could forget his game-tying grand slam against the Detroit Tigers nine years later? At the most important times, you could always count on Big Papi to deliver.
Star
While Ortiz was punishing opposing pitchers, the Red Sox started to get really good.
The Red Sox took home World Series titles in 2004 and 2007, rostering a mix of homegrown talent and prized outside acquisitions. Due to that success, Boston became a destination for the stars of the game.
Adrián Beltré, Adrián González, Carl Crawford, VÃctor MartÃnez and Yoenis Céspedes are all examples of star players who came and went during Ortiz's illustrious career, never quite matching the production or importance to the Red Sox as their designated hitter did.
Boston had an abundance of good-to-great players on its roster during Ortiz's playing days, but there was only one Big Papi.
Leader
As the face of the franchise, Ortiz developed a knack for helping lead those around him. He famously rallied the troops in Game 4 of the 2013 World Series, leading to three straight victories for Boston -- helping secure Ortiz's third and final world championship -- but it was a speech from earlier that season that truly helped illustrate how important Big Papi had become to the fiber of the Red Sox, and the city of Boston.
"This is our (expletive) city," Ortiz exclaimed in the days following the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, finding the words of an entire city desperate to begin healing. His ability to lead showed itself beyond baseball on that day, and continued to do so after he hung up his cleats.
Just like his clutch hitting led to the wins that turned Boston into a force, his leadership qualities were passed down to the next generation of Red Sox greats, who continued to carry the torch into the future and beyond as an organization much better than the one David Ortiz found in January 2003.
