David Ortiz announced before opening day this year that at season’s end he will retire. Already an almost guaranteed Hall of Famer going into the 2016 campaign, few had indications of the greatness to come of what Ortiz would accomplish in this year’s regular season. The Red Sox slugger finished his 2016 regular season campaign with a .315 BA, 38 HR, 127 RBI (tied for 1st), and a .620 SLG% (led majors). Despite how far he takes the Red Sox in the postseason, other than his general numbers, there is a legitimate case to make David Ortiz the AL MVP.
Ortiz also led the league in OPS (1.021), doubles (48), and intentional walks (15) probably considering the respect and fear from opposing pitchers. The Red Sox had the best offense in the majors all year, and along with help from Jackie Bradley Jr, Mookie Betts, and Xander Bogaerts, David Ortiz lead the team to an AL East title. When facing other playoff contending teams, Ortiz had batting averages as follows: Cleveland Indians (.417), Detroit Tigers (.346), Texas Rangers (.300), and Toronto Blue Jays (.296). Now, certainly Fenway Park is a hitter’s ballpark, but Ortiz was pretty lethal on the road as well, showing versatility, hitting .295 with 77 hits in 73 games played. But, what made him amazingly different this season, other than the rest of his career that can only give him more votes for MVP is how he hit lefties.
The following chart shows that he pounded the ball just as much on the inside part of the plate as the outer half against all pitchers and situations. However, his hole, up and tight, was more of a hole against righties (.194) than southpaws (.417).
For David’s career, he has hit .268 vs southpaws, but this season he hit .313 against them. The other piece of information that is worthwhile for his MVP campaign is his success with bases empty, as Ortiz is known for his clutch hitting with bases occupied. This chart shows his success with no outs and bases empty this season.
In pressure situations this year, David Ortiz was as good as he has always been. The line showed stats like the following: slugging percentage with runners in scoring position (.636), 2 outs with runners in scoring position (.300, 11/18 hits went for extra bases), and vs relief pitchers (.355, 43 RBI’s). However, the toughest situation, and where he has become a legend (other than October) is September ball; which Boston entered trailing the Toronto Blue Jays in the division. Ortiz collected a batting average of .323 in September, while half of his hits went for extra bases, as the Sox went 19-8 to claim the AL East title.
Overall he was, at least on paper, one of the most valuable players in baseball this season. He recorded a WAR of 5.1, which is one of the most valued stats in the game, basically calculating how many wins David Ortiz was worth over a replacement player (WAR 0.0). He also recorded an OWn% of .756, which is the winning percentage of a team with 9 of David Ortiz’s in the lineup, and an OPS+ of 162 (another calculation to determine player value, but it accounts for league and park factors; the average is 100) putting him 2nd in the majors. David Ortiz, considering his numbers, affect on his team (on and off the field), and the records he broke as a 40-year-old player, an MVP to conclude Ortiz’s historical career might even make him a FIRST BALLOT Hall of Famer
