Globe iconLogin iconRecap iconSearch iconTickets icon

David Ortiz hit his 500th homer, so let's rewatch 10 of his biggest, longest and most memorable

After Ortiz's 500th HR, let's rewatch his 10 biggest

Surprisingly, there was a time when it didn't look like David Ortiz was going to be a full-time starting ballplayer, much less one of the greatest home run hitters of our era. 

Ortiz started his career with the Mariners (where he was known as David Arias), but made his way to the Twins to complete a deal for Dave Hollins in 1996. Only once did he make Baseball America's Top 100 prospects, topping out as the 84th-best youngster in 1998. 

Ortiz hit 58 homers in 455 games with Minnesota, but mostly served as a platoon DH/1B. The club released him after the 2002 season to make room for Rule 5 Draft pick Jose Morban, and the rest is history: At age 27, Ortiz signed with the Red Sox and transformed into Big Papi -- the dinger-mashing hero loved by his fans and feared in the late innings by opponents.

On Saturday, the hulking, smiling probable future Hall of Famer mashed his 500th long ball:

Ortiz reaction

Let's take a look back at 10 of his longest, most dramatic and most memorable dingers:

1. The first

Just like your first kiss, you'll always remember your first dinger. On Sept. 14, 1997, Ortiz went deep for the very first time. Facing Julio Santana, the not-yet-Papi drove the ball deep to right field to drive in two.

Even though it was his first, it still retained that wonderful David Ortiz-iness as the young slugger took a 21.45-second home run trot. 

2. His first walk-off

For a hitter whose 11 walk-off home runs and countless big hits make us wonder if "clutch" is an actual skill, Ortiz had to start somewhere.

Fittingly, it came in the bottom of the 12th inning and was his last home run as a Twins player. 

3. His first Red Sox home run

Imagine you're a Red Sox fan in 2003. Your team has just picked up Ortiz -- a 1B/DH-type who seemed like a useful hitter but hardly a future legend. And then, in the top of the 14th inning of a 4-4 game, Ortiz did this against Mickey Calloway of the Angels.

Maybe you felt something, an intuitive sense that this was a magical player who would someday help deliver a World Series to a team that hadn't won one in nearly a century. But you would have told yourself that this thought was simply a result of staying up past your bedtime for a late West Coast game.

4. ALDS stands for American League Done Series

The Red Sox were already up two games to none as Game 3 of the 2004 ALDS went to extra innings. But Ortiz seems to like wrapping things up nice and tidy. And so he took Jarrod Washburn's offering high over the Monster for a walk-off two-run home run, his arm lifted high in the air as he rounded first. No one knew it at the time, but it would be a signal of things to come. 

5. Oh, just the defining home run of the 21st century

Ortiz has 17 October long balls to his name, but none resonate as strongly as the one he hit against the Yankees in the 2004 ALCS.

With the Red Sox trailing the Yankees three games to zero, there was something like a .00000000000000000000000000001 percent chance that they would be moving on to the World Series (and I may be rounding up). 

After Boston tied the Yanks at four in the bottom of the ninth of Game 4 thanks to Dave Roberts' steal and Bill Mueller's RBI single, Ortiz did what he does best. (And let's not forget his home runs in Games 5 and 7.)

6. The Red Sox's first World Series home run since 1986

Rich Gedman hit a home run in the second inning of the Red Sox's ill-fated Game 7 loss to the Mets in 1986, but Boston would go nearly two decades before returning to the Fall Classic.

The team wouldn't have to wait long in 2004. With two on in the bottom of the first of Game 1, Ortiz (and his chinstrap beard) took Woody Williams' pitch just fair into the right-field corner. The Red Sox would not trail again that day. 

7. Two late HRs against the Tigers in 2005

With so many game-tying and game-winning home runs in his career, you would think Ortiz must have two in one game at some point.

Sure enough, you'd be right. On Aug. 6, 2005, Ortiz tied a game against Detroit in the top of the ninth with a massive blast off of Fernando Rodney. Nate Robertson, who had pitched eight brilliant innings, giving up only two runs, could only look on with a thousand-yard stare.

description

One inning later, as the Red Sox went on to score seven runs in the top of the 10th (though the Tigers tried valiantly to come back, scoring four in the bottom half), Ortiz was responsible for three of them with his second blast in as many innings. 

8. The biggest difference-maker

And if you like your home runs to be the biggest difference-maker in a game, then you'll enjoy Ortiz's two-on, two-out, down-by-two home run in the bottom of the ninth against the Rangers on June 11, 2006. That was worth .899 WPA (Winning Percentage Added). What does that mean? When David Ortiz came to the plate, the Red Sox had a 10.1 percent chance of winning. After his at-bat ...  game, set, match. 

9. David Ortiz makes a meme

Ortiz was put on this planet to hit home runs in big situations.

The Red Sox were trailing, 4-1, in the bottom of the eighth, in danger of falling into a 2-0 hole in the 2013 ALCS against the Tigers. While the concept of momentum across a full team of individuals is difficult to quantify, once again, David Ortiz is at the intersection of baseball science and faith. For when he hit what would prove to be the game-winning grand slam, inspiring a bullpen cop to raise his arms in triumph over Torii Hunter's dangling feet, well, it really didn't feel like the Red Sox would ever lose another game. 

10. His longest home run

While a good portion of Ortiz's career came before 2006, when comprehensive home run distance data became readily available, Ortiz's longest shot since then was this 482-foot dinger off Masahiro Tanaka. Given the number of big home runs that Ortiz has hit against the Yankees in his career, there is poetic beauty in this one. 

Bonus: The Home Run Derby belongs to Ortiz

While none of the 32 home runs that Ortiz hit at the 2010 Home Run Derby count toward his official 500, his massive dinger output that day is kind of a perfect encapsulation of his career: Pure, raw power, played on repeat. 

Read More: Boston Red Sox
seductrice.net
universo-virtual.com
buytrendz.net
thisforall.net
benchpressgains.com
qthzb.com
mindhunter9.com
dwjqp1.com
secure-signup.net
ahaayy.com
tressesindia.com
puresybian.com
krpano-chs.com
cre8workshop.com
hdkino.org
peixun021.com
qz786.com
utahperformingartscenter.org
worldqrmconference.com
shangyuwh.com
eejssdfsdfdfjsd.com
playminecraftfreeonline.com
trekvietnamtour.com
your-business-articles.com
essaywritingservice10.com
hindusamaaj.com
joggingvideo.com
wandercoups.com
wormblaster.net
tongchengchuyange0004.com
internetknowing.com
breachurch.com
peachesnginburlesque.com
dataarchitectoo.com
clientfunnelformula.com
30pps.com
cherylroll.com
ks2252.com
prowp.net
webmanicura.com
sofietsshotel.com
facetorch.com
nylawyerreview.com
apapromotions.com
shareparelli.com
goeaglepointe.com
thegreenmanpubphuket.com
karotorossian.com
publicsensor.com
taiwandefence.com
epcsur.com
mfhoudan.com
southstills.com
tvtv98.com
thewellington-hotel.com
bccaipiao.com
colectoresindustrialesgs.com
shenanddcg.com
capriartfilmfestival.com
replicabreitlingsale.com
thaiamarinnewtoncorner.com
gkmcww.com
mbnkbj.com
andrewbrennandesign.com
cod54.com
luobinzhang.com
faithfirst.net
zjyc28.com
tongchengjinyeyouyue0004.com
nhuan6.com
kftz5k.com
oldgardensflowers.com
lightupthefloor.com
bahamamamas-stjohns.com
ly2818.com
905onthebay.com
fonemenu.com
notanothermovie.com
ukrainehighclassescort.com
meincmagazine.com
av-5858.com
yallerdawg.com
donkeythemovie.com
corporatehospitalitygroup.com
boboyy88.com
miteinander-lernen.com
dannayconsulting.com
officialtomsshoesoutletstore.com
forsale-amoxil-amoxicillin.net
generictadalafil-canada.net
guitarlessonseastlondon.com
lesliesrestaurants.com
mattyno9.com
nri-homeloans.com
rtgvisas-qatar.com
salbutamolventolinonline.net
sportsinjuries.info
wedsna.com
rgkntk.com
bkkmarketplace.com
zxqcwx.com
breakupprogram.com
boxcardc.com
unblockyoutubeindonesia.com
fabulousbookmark.com
beat-the.com
guatemala-sailfishing-vacations-charters.com
magie-marketing.com
kingstonliteracy.com
guitaraffinity.com
eurelookinggoodapparel.com
howtolosecheekfat.net
marioncma.org
oliviadavismusic.com
shantelcampbellrealestate.com
shopleborn13.com
topindiafree.com
v-visitors.net
djjky.com
053hh.com
originbluei.com
baucishotel.com
33kkn.com
intrinsiqresearch.com
mariaescort-kiev.com
mymaguk.com
sponsored4u.com
crimsonclass.com
bataillenavale.com
searchtile.com
ze-stribrnych-struh.com
zenithalhype.com
modalpkv.com
bouisset-lafforgue.com
useupload.com
37r.net
autoankauf-muenster.com
bantinbongda.net
bilgius.com
brabustermagazine.com
indigrow.org
miicrosofts.net
mysmiletravel.com
selinasims.com
spellcubesapp.com
usa-faction.com
hypoallergenicdogsnames.com
dailyupdatez.com
foodphotographyreviews.com
cricutcom-setup.com
chprowebdesign.com
katyrealty-kanepa.com
tasramar.com
bilgipinari.org
four-am.com
indiarepublicday.com
inquick-enbooks.com
iracmpi.com
kakaschoenen.com
lsm99flash.com
nana1255.com
ngen-niagara.com
technwzs.com
virtualonlinecasino1345.com
wallpapertop.net
casino-natali.com
iprofit-internet.com
denochemexicana.com
eventhalfkg.com
medcon-taiwan.com
life-himawari.com
myriamshomes.com
nightmarevue.com
healthandfitnesslives.com
androidnews-jp.com
allstarsru.com
bestofthebuckeyestate.com
bestofthefirststate.com
bestwireless7.com
britsmile.com
declarationintermittent.com
findhereall.com
jingyou888.com
lsm99deal.com
lsm99galaxy.com
moozatech.com
nuagh.com
patliyo.com
philomenamagikz.net
rckouba.net
saturnunipessoallda.com
tallahasseefrolics.com
thematurehardcore.net
totalenvironment-inthatquietearth.com
velislavakaymakanova.com
vermontenergetic.com
kakakpintar.com
jerusalemdispatch.com
begorgeouslady.com
1800birks4u.com
2wheelstogo.com
6strip4you.com
bigdata-world.net
emailandco.net
gacapal.com
jharpost.com
krishnaastro.com
lsm99credit.com
mascalzonicampani.com
sitemapxml.org
thecityslums.net
topagh.com
flairnetwebdesign.com
rajasthancarservices.com
bangkaeair.com
beneventocoupon.com
noternet.org
oqtive.com
smilebrightrx.com
decollage-etiquette.com
1millionbestdownloads.com
7658.info
bidbass.com
devlopworldtech.com
digitalmarketingrajkot.com
fluginfo.net
naqlafshk.com
passion-decouverte.com
playsirius.com
spacceleratorintl.com
stikyballs.com
top10way.com
yokidsyogurt.com
zszyhl.com
16firthcrescent.com
abogadolaboralistamd.com
apk2wap.com
aromacremeria.com
banparacard.com
bosmanraws.com
businessproviderblog.com
caltonosa.com
calvaryrevivalchurch.org
chastenedsoulwithabrokenheart.com
cheminotsgardcevennes.com
cooksspot.com
cqxzpt.com
deesywig.com
deltacartoonmaps.com
despixelsetdeshommes.com
duocoracaobrasileiro.com
fareshopbd.com
goodpainspills.com
hemendekor.com
kobisitecdn.com
makaigoods.com
mgs1454.com
piccadillyresidences.com
radiolaondafresca.com
rubendorf.com
searchengineimprov.com
sellmyhrvahome.com
shugahouseessentials.com
sonihullquad.com
subtractkilos.com
valeriekelmansky.com
vipasdigitalmarketing.com
voolivrerj.com
worldhealthstory.com
zeelonggroup.com
1015southrockhill.com
10x10b.com
111-online-casinos.com
191cb.com
3665arpentunitd.com
aitesonics.com
bag-shokunin.com
brightotech.com
communication-digitale-services.com
covoakland.org
dariaprimapack.com
freefortniteaccountss.com
gatebizglobal.com
global1entertainmentnews.com
greatytene.com
hiroshiwakita.com
iktodaypk.com
jahatsakong.com
meadowbrookgolfgroup.com
newsbharati.net
platinumstudiosdesign.com
slotxogamesplay.com
strikestaruk.com
techguroh.com
trucosdefortnite.com
ufabetrune.com
weddedtowhitmore.com
12940brycecanyonunitb.com
1311dietrichoaks.com
2monarchtraceunit303.com
601legendhill.com
850elaine.com
adieusolasomade.com
andora-ke.com
bestslotxogames.com
cannagomcallen.com
endlesslyhot.com
iestpjva.com
ouqprint.com
pwmaplefest.com
qtylmr.com
rb88betting.com
buscadogues.com
1007macfm.com
born-wild.com
growthinvests.com
promocode-casino.com
proyectogalgoargentina.com
wbthompson-art.com
whitemountainwheels.com
7thavehvl.com
developmethis.com
funkydogbowties.com
travelodgegrandjunction.com
gao-town.com
globalmarketsuite.com
blogshippo.com
hdbka.com
proboards67.com
outletonline-michaelkors.com
kalkis-research.com
thuthuatit.net
buckcash.com
hollistercanada.com
docterror.com
asadart.com
vmayke.org
erwincomputers.com
dirimart.org
okkii.com
loteriasdecehegin.com
mountanalog.com
healingtaobritain.com
ttxmonitor.com
nwordpress.com
11bolabonanza.com