David Ortiz will get enshrined into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday. Before the induction ceremony, he received a hat tip from a former rival.
New York Yankees legend Derek Jeter celebrated the Boston Red Sox icon joining him in the Hall of Fame.
“We’ve spent a lot of time together on the field between New York, Boston and numerous All-Star Games… Glad to add Cooperstown to that list,” Jeter wrote Sunday morning on Twitter.
Jeter added that he won’t attend Sunday’s ceremony due to a COVID-19 situation in his family.
Although Ortiz was the only player voted in by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America this year, he leads a class of seven inductees. The Golden Days Era inducted Gil Hodges, Jim Kaat, Minnie Miñoso, Tony Oliva, Bud Fowler, and Buck O’Neil as well.
Jeter congratulated them all on the overdue recognition.
Though inducted in 2020, Jeter’s ceremony didn’t occur until last year because of the pandemic. The former shortstop headlined a group including Larry Walker, Ted Simmons, and Marvin Miller.
Jeter’s Yankees and Ortiz’s Red Sox went to battle often during their decorated careers. Big Papi relished the marquee feud, batting .303/.394/.567 against his AL East nemesis. That slash line doesn’t include him powering Boston to a 2004 ALCS win over New York with a 1.119 OPS in the seven-game series.
Given an up-close view of Ortiz’s greatness, Jeter gladly welcomed his former nemesis into an exclusive Hall of Fame club.