Last night David Ortiz belted his 400th home run in a Boston Redsox uniform. Then he added another for 401. Ortiz in his career has 459 HR's to his credit. Big Papi is a staple in the city of Boston, and if he ever left i believe the town would be crushed. He has played a total of 17 years in the MLB and is on his 12th year with the Redsox.
He has made it through the good times and bad times in his career at Fenway Park. Back in 2003 if someone would have told you that he was going to be a career .285 avg and have 459 home runs and help lead you to a World Series many would have laughed. What Big Papi has brought to Boston is rather eye popping. His jersey is the tops among MLB jerseys surpassing guys like Derek Jeter and Clayton Kershaw to name a few.
Off the field Ortiz does his part as a role model and has created the David Ortiz Children's Fund. He believes children should have a better shot at life. He really is a huge part of Boston. When you think of the Redsox or even Boston for that matter, the first name or face is Big Papi. In 2008 Ortiz was awarded the UNICEF's Children's Champion Award. Anyone that has watched Ortiz knows he has a great sense of humor and loves to make people laugh.
As a 3 time World Series champion Ortiz also has made his claim to 9 MLB All-Star games. 6 Silver Slugging Awards and was the 1st player in Redsox history with 40+ HR in 3 consecutive seasons.
It's a wonder how the Twins let him go after his few years with the club from 1997-2003.
In just one year with Boston, the "Curse" was over as Ortiz and Boston took home the Pennant. Ortiz was named the ALCS MVP. Ortiz was a big part of lifting the "Curse" that had haunted them dating back to 1918 !
In 2005 he had a career year as he took home the Silver Slugger, Edgar Martinez, and Hank Aaron awards. He led the AL in RBI's and extra base hits. It wasn't long again before Big Papi and the Redsox won another title in 2007. Ortiz also added a small award in 2010 to the list as he won the Home Run Derby.
With his 3rd World Series title many thought Ortiz may have been all but done in Boston. That doesn't seem to be the case. Big Papi is now sitting with the best of the best, Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski
This is my opinion, but i believe David Ortiz did more for 1 team over his career than 90% of any other player to put on a uniform.