Baseball Hall of Fame 2022: Induction Ceremony Start Time and TV Info
July 23, 2022
David Ortiz wasn't known as "Big Papi" just for his megawatt smile and hulking, physical appearance.
The legendary Boston Red Sox designated hitter and first baseman earned the moniker for also being larger than life as a superstar Major League Baseball player and, of course, for delivering in the biggest moments.
Who could forget the postseason series-ending homer in Game 3 of the 2004 ALCS, when Ortiz caught a dinger off Jarrod Washburn's first pitch in the 10th inning to sweep the Angels?
That season, the Red Sox went on to win their first championship in 86 years.
This Sunday, the 10-time All-Star will be enshrined in Cooperstown, New York, as the headliner of the seven members of the Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2022.
Ortiz is the only inductee this year to be elected by the Baseball Writers' Association of America, capturing the honor in his first year on the ballot.
The other six honorees include Gil Hodges, Jim Kaat, Minnie Minoso and Tony Oliva, who were elected by the Golden Days Era Committee, and Bud Fowler and Buck O’Neil, who were voted in by the Early Baseball Era Committee.
Additionally, Jack Graney will be honored posthumously with the Ford C. Frick Award for broadcasting excellence, while Tim Kurkjian will be presented with the BBWAA Career Excellence Award.
Here's everything to know about the ceremony and how to watch the iconic players be enshrined.
Baseball Hall of Fame 2022 Induction Ceremony
Date: Sunday, July 24
Time: 1:30 p.m. ET
Location: Clark Sports Center, Cooperstown, New York
TV: MLB Network
Live Stream: MLB.com
Hall of Famer sounds nice, but there's something next level about upgrading that phrase to "First Ballot Hall of Famer."
That'll be the case for Ortiz after Sunday, and he's more than earned that designation, too.
The seven-time Silver Slugger winner was on 77.9 percent of the ballots to achieve baseball's most important acknowledgement, a feat that seemed predestined after leading Boston to three World Series titles during his 14 years with the ball club.
Ortiz also played for the Minnesota Twins and finished his career with a .286 batting average, 1,768 RBI, 541 home runs and a career slugging percentage of .552.
The native of Dominican Republic also took home the World Series Most Valuable Player award in 2013, led the league in RBI three times (2005, 2006 and 2016) and still holds the single-season record for home runs for the Red Sox with 54.
"He was one hell of a hitter, you know?" Red Sox legend Carl Yastrzemski told The Boston Globe's Dan Shaughnessy. "One of the best hitters the Red Sox ever had. Probably the only guy that was a better hitter was Ted [Williams]."
"Minnie" Minoso was the first Black Cuban to play in the major leagues back in 1949 for Cleveland.
Known as the "Cuban Comet," Minoso started out in the Negro Leagues, where he was an All-Star third baseman, before signing with Cleveland.
The first Black Cuban to ever play for the Chicago White Sox went on to win three Gold Gloves, earn nine All-Star selections and finished his MLB career with a .299 batting average and 2,110 hits.
"Minnie Minoso is to Latin ballplayers what Jackie Robinson is to Black ballplayers," wrote Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda in his autobiography (h/t The National Baseball Hall of Fame's website). "Minnie is the one who made it possible for all us Latins. He was the first Latin player to become a superstar."
Hodges is finally being enshrined 50 years after his death. The Dodgers' legendary first baseman was also a manager for the New York Mets when they won the World Series in 1969.
Left-handed pitching icon Kaat played 25 seasons for six ball clubs, including the Minnesota Twins, where he is in their Hall of Fame.
Kaat won a World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1982 and finished his career with three All-Star nods and 16 Gold Gloves.
Oliva was a designated hitter and right fielder from Cuba who played 15 years in the majors. He was an eight-time All-Star, two-time World Series champion and AL Rookie of the Year in 1964.
Fowler was an infielder and pitcher who started the Page Fence Giants of the Negro Leagues. He was noted as one of the first Black players to ever play professionally.
First baseman and manager O'Neil was a pioneer in the Negro Leagues. After his time with the Kansas City Monarchs, he was the first African American coach in the majors.