David Ortiz voted into Baseball Hall of Fame in first year on ballot

Ortiz joined Wade Boggs, Pedro Martinez, Carl Yastrzemski, and Ted Williams as the only Red Sox players to gain entrance to the Hall on the first ballot.

The news only a few players ever receive came Tuesday night in a call that traveled from Cooperstown to Ortiz’s home in the Dominican Republic. Ortiz was in with 77.9 percent of the votes cast by members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

David Ortiz, the ebullient slugger who carried the Red Sox and their fans to unimagined heights, is the newest member of baseball’s Hall of Fame.

Martinez, a teammate from 2003-04, was among the family and friends with Ortiz at his home in Santo Domingo when word came from BBWAA secretary-treasurer Jack O’Connell.

Martinez had his left hand on Ortiz’s shoulder as Ortiz answered the phone and O’Connell said he had been elected

“Yes!” shouted Ortiz before hugging his father, Leo, and Martinez with both arms, then embracing his longtime agent, Fernando Cuza.

The induction ceremony is scheduled for July 24. COVID-permitting, a caravan of Red Sox fans are sure to make the trip to Cooperstown, N.Y., to pay tribute to the player known as “Big Papi.”

Ortiz is one of 58 players elected on the first ballot, the inner circle of the Hall of Fame.

“I can call myself that. I started paying attention to that lately,” he said. “I learned how difficult it is to get in first ballot. It’s a wonderful honor to get in on my first rodeo. It’s something very special to me.”

Ortiz is part of a Hall of Fame class that also includes Brooklyn Dodgers first baseman Gil Hodges, longtime Minnesota Twins lefthander Jim Kaat, beloved Chicago White Sox outfielder Minnie Miñoso, hard-hitting Twins outfielder Tony Oliva, and Negro League stalwarts Bud Fowler and Buck O’Neil.

They were elected in December by two era committees. Hodges, Miñoso, Fowler, and O’Neil will be honored posthumously.

Barry Bonds (66 percent) and former Red Sox ace Roger Clemens (65.2 percent) were denied admission in their 10th and final time on the ballot.

Their cases will now be taken up by the veterans’ committee.

Curt Schilling, one of the celebrated members of the 2004 Red Sox, received 58.6 percent in his final attempt. Schilling received 71.1 percent a year ago then derailed his candidacy with a Facebook post attacking the voters.

Ortiz cleared the 75 percent required for induction on the strength of a 20-year career that included 541 home runs, 632 doubles, a .286 batting average, and three World Series championships.

David Ortiz's teammates wait for him at home plate after he launched a home run in the 12th inning against the Yankees to help the Red Sox win. Boston became the first team to come back from a 3-0 deficit to win the series, and would go on to win it all. The Boston Globe/Boston Globe

Ortiz hit .455 in 14 World Series games with nine extra-base hits, 14 walks, and 14 RBIs.

Ortiz, Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, and Reggie Jackson are the only players with 500 home runs and three rings.

“There are countless reasons why David is deserving of this honor, beginning with three World Series trophies that we would not have without his heroics on the field and his leadership,” said Red Sox principal owner John Henry, who also owns the Globe. “He was critical in transforming the narrative around the Red Sox from one of curses and superstitions to tales of clutch moments and a collection of championships.”

That Ortiz would one day land in the Hall of Fame seemed unlikely when he was released by the Twins after the 2002 season and signed a one-year contract with the Red Sox for a modest $1.5 million.

A part-time player in Minnesota, Ortiz took off with the Red Sox once he became a regular member of the lineup late in May.

The Sox fell to the Yankees in a seven-game American League Championship Series in 2003 but stunned their rivals a year later. Trailing, 3-0, in the ALCS, Ortiz delivered game-winning hits in Games 4 and 5.

The Sox went on to win the pennant then claimed the franchise’s first World Series championship since 1918. Ortiz became the face of baseball in Boston as the Sox won again in 2007 and 2013.

“David Ortiz is the most important player to ever wear a Red Sox uniform,” Red Sox president Sam Kennedy said.

In ‘13, as the city recovered from a terrorist bombing at the Boston Marathon, Ortiz took the microphone after an April ceremony at Fenway Park to honor the victims and first responders and declared, “This is our [expletive] city.”

David Ortiz delivered a rousing and profane speech on April 20, 2013, just days after the Boston Marathon bombing. Getty Images/Getty

Ortiz led a Sox team with low expectations to a thrilling season that helped rally a shaken city. His eighth-inning grand slam in Game 2 of the ALCS shook Fenway as the Sox rallied from a 5-1 deficit to win the game.

“I don’t know what you can say about David,” manager John Farrell said after the game. “He’s just an incredibly special player.”

Persistent injuries led to Ortiz announcing his retirement before the 2016 season. He hit 38 home runs and drove in 127 runs to lead the Sox to a postseason berth then cried on the mound at Fenway Park when the team was eliminated.

Ortiz became emotional during a pregame ceremony on Oct. 2, 2016, before his final regular-season game, when discussing his late mother. Jim Davis

Ortiz’s Hall credentials were damaged by his reportedly testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug in 2003. Results of the confidential test were seized by federal agents and details leaked out.

The testing included what at the time were legal over-the-counter products. Both the league and the Players Association questioned the report, saying it was possible Ortiz and other players had not actually tested positive.

Ortiz has long denied taking any illegal substances, but some BBWAA voters have refused to consider players with any hint of impropriety.

2022 Baseball Hall of Fame election results 75 percent needed for election. Player Votes Pct. Years on ballot David Ortiz 307 77.9 1 Barry Bonds 260 66 10 Roger Clemens 257 65.2 10 Scott Rolen 249 63.2 5 Curt Schilling 231 58.6 10 Todd Helton 205 52 4 Billy Wagner 201 51 7 Andruw Jones 163 41.1 5 Gary Sheffield 160 40.6 8 Alex Rodriguez 135 34.3 1 Jeff Kent 129 32.7 9 Manny Ramirez 114 28.9 6 Omar Vizquel 94 23.9 5 Sammy Sosa 73 18.5 10 Andy Pettitte 42 10.7 4 Jimmy Rollins 37 9.4 1 Bobby Abreu 34 8.6 3 Mark Buehrle 23 5.8 2 Torii Hunter 21 5.3 2 Joe Nathan 17 4.3 1 Tim Hudson 12 3 2 Tim Lincecum 9 2.3 1 Ryan Howard 8 2 1 Mark Teixeira 6 1.5 1 Justin Morneau 5 1.3 1 Jonathan Papelbon 5 1.3 1 Prince Fielder 2 0.5 1 A.J. Pierzynski 2 0.5 1 Carl Crawford 0 0 1 Jake Peavy 0 0 1 SOURCE : BBWAA

Peter Abraham can be reached at peter.abraham@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @PeteAbe.