David Ortiz Forum

Just an article in case some have missed it:  Bill Madden: With help from Rob Manfred, David Ortiz gets free pass into Hall of Fame, while others are held to a higher standard (msn.com)

The druglord stuff is quite bizarre. That said, I'm ok with him being in the HOF on his playing credentials. I suppose some news can come out later on the drug stuff that may sully or tarnish his name, but even Roberto Alomar's enshrinement has survived that scenario. 

As for Bonds, Clemens, A-Rod, etc, these players will all eventually get in. Honestly not sure how I'd vote if I had a vote, though I'm fine with their inclusion. I do feel there is some justice in that they couldn't (or still for some, aren't) get in via the natural course of things and will have to go via committee. 

I always used Mariano Rivera as a fun counter-arguement to anyone who argued about a player being a DH. Rivera was elected unanimously despite adding ZERO offensive value. Ortiz and Rivera are contemoraries in my book - both were players that were given a distinct role by their managers that put them and their team in the best place to succeed. Not only did both these players suceed in these roles, they redefined them and raised the bar for future generations.

Oh, and I don't care how fit a guy is, but if you run the bases enough to make the Top 10 in all time extra base hits, you're going to break a sweat!

As a Yankee fan, I've always hated him as a player.  As a baseball fan, I've always had a lot of respect for him.
As someone living near Boston, I gained a lot of respect for him after his reaction to the bombing of the marathon.
My son growing up would always refer to him as Big Poopie.

Overall, glad to see he got in.  He did deserve it.

You guys should look up what actually happened because Ortiz never even did steroids, at all. He was erroneously named on a report by a third party drug testing company of some sort that accused dozens more players of being positive for PEDs than were even tested and the test itself was improperly executed. The report didn't come out until years later and the commissioner ended up formally apologizing to Ortiz and others who were named on the report. He's totally clean as a player and he's also a great guy on top of having some Hall of Fame talent.