David Ortiz Franchise Home Run Leader

Lore & Background

Ortiz played a leading role in ending the Red Sox's 86-year World Series championship drought in 2004, as well as winning championships in 2007 and 2013. He set the team's single-season record of 54 home runs in 2006. He was a 10-time All-Star and a seven-time Silver Slugger winner. He received the Edgar Martínez Award as the league's top DH eight times. He had 11 career walk-off home runs during the regular season and two during the 2004 postseason. In 2022, Ortiz was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.

In Their Own Story

The air inside Fenway Park hung heavy with humidity and anticipation as the count wound full. Thirty thousand fans held their breath, a singular roar coiling in the throat of the crowd. Ortiz stepped out of the batter's box, adjusting his helmet, his silhouette framed against the towering Green Monster. He took a deep breath, settled into that iconic left-handed stance, and waited. Then came the crack—a thunderclap that echoed through the park as the ball soared over the wall in left field. As he rounded the bases, the stadium erupted, not just celebrating a home run, but honoring the man who owned the record books.

Reader's Guide

Ortiz was used almost exclusively as a DH during his 14 seasons with the Red Sox. He set major league records for career home runs (485), RBIs (1,569) and hits (2,192) as a DH. He posted ten seasons each with 30 home runs and 100 RBIs, and batted .300 or better seven times. Upon retirement, he ranked sixth in AL history with 541 home runs, fifth in doubles (632) and ninth in RBIs (1,768).

Did You Know?

• Ortiz was originally signed by the Seattle Mariners in 1992 and listed as 'David Arias' due to unfamiliarity with Spanish naming customs.
• He was traded to the Minnesota Twins as the player to be named later in 1996.
• Ortiz met his future wife Tiffany while playing for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, and she led him to become a lifelong Green Bay Packers fan.
• He hit his first major league grand slam at Fenway Park against Ramón Martínez, one of his childhood heroes.