Explore each of David Ortiz’s 558 career home runs
Red Sox legend David Ortiz is headed to the Hall of Fame. Explore all of the 558 career home runs that helped get him there.
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When you think of David Ortiz, it’s probably about a ball sailing over the fence. After all, he did it 558 times.
Big Papi hit 541 regular-season home runs, 17th in major league history. He added 17 more in the postseason, including some of the most memorable blasts that ever sailed into an October night.
Only four players — Ortiz, Reggie Jackson, Mickey Mantle, and Babe Ruth — share the distinction of hitting at least 500 homers, winning at least three World Series championships, and being inducted into the Hall of Fame.
“His power was legit,” Jackson said last fall during the World Series. “When David hit one, you knew it was going to go.”
That immense power is one of the reasons Ortiz is being inducted into the Hall of Fame on Sunday in Cooperstown, N.Y. He’s entering the Hall in his first year of eligibility. He’ll also be one of the few Hall of Famers who played primarily as a designated hitter. Ortiz made 87.8 percent of his plate appearances as a DH, the most among Hall of Famers.
Edgar Martinez (71.6 percent), Frank Thomas (56.5 percent), Jim Thome (46.6 percent), and Paul Molitor (43.9 percent) also spent considerable time as DHs. Molitor, Thomas, and Thome also went in on the first ballot.
Ortiz also is just the fourth player born in the Dominican Republic to be elected. He joins Juan Marichal (1983), fellow Red Sox legend (and close friend) Pedro Martinez (2015), and Vladimir Guerrero (2018).
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Ortiz hit home runs against all 30 major league teams (including four against the Red Sox while he was with the Twins). He hit home runs in 29 stadiums, including a few that no longer exist. He hit 13 walkoff homers, two of them during the playoffs. And 11 of those 558 homers were grand slams.
Ortiz hit 483 homers for the Red Sox, second among all Boston hitters to Ted Williams.
Maybe you saw one in person. Maybe you saw a few. But it was hard to be a Red Sox fan — or even a baseball fan — for the past two decades and not have a memory of a Big Papi home run.
Below, you can browse every one of Ortiz’s 558 dingers, from No. 1 to his final regular-season shot, which was, fittingly, a game-winner. Scroll through to see the highlights, then explore our interactive graphic mapping every single home run.
The details tell the story of a journey that took Ortiz all the way to Cooperstown.
Every home run David Ortiz hit
We chose 12 home runs that tell the story of Ortiz’s career. Begin scrolling to read more about them. Then, explore all 558 of Ortiz’s regular and postseason homers.
- Solo
- Two-run
- Three-run
- Grand slam
Opponent
Year
Season Type
Postseason series
Stadium
Result
Walkoff
Oct. 17, 2004
ALCS Game 4
The late-night walkoff homer off Yankees reliever Paul Quantrill gave the Red Sox life and elevated Ortiz to new prominence, helping to earn him the moniker “Señor Octubre” from President George W. Bush. In 2016, Ortiz called it “the one at-bat I never forget about.”
Sept. 6, 2005
No. 168
If ever an Ortiz homer deserved the soundtrack of “The Natural,” his walkoff against Scot Shields — estimated by Red Sox analyst Greg Rybarczyk at 457 feet — was it. Red Sox principal owner John Henry presented Ortiz with a plaque after the game anointing him “The Greatest Clutch Hitter in the History of the Boston Red Sox.”
June 6, 2009
No. 291
A Pesky Pole job off Rangers righthander Kris Benson takes the prize, according to Rybarczyk, as the shortest of Ortiz’s career, projecting at just 312 feet.
Oct. 13, 2013
ALCS Game 2
Everybody remembers this one. The Sox were trailing, 5-1, in the eighth inning, four outs away from going down, two games to none. With the bases loaded and two outs, Ortiz crushed the first pitch he saw from Joaquin Benoit for his only postseason grand slam. The ball landed in the Red Sox bullpen as police officer Steve Horgan raised his arms and outfielder Torii Hunter tumbled over the wall chasing it. Fenway Park shook with joy. The Sox went on to win the game, the pennant, and the World Series.
Sept. 12, 2015
Nos. 499, 500
It was a milestone night at Tropicana Field as Ortiz belted two bombs to right field off Matt Moore to reach 500. There was a three-run blast in the first inning and a solo shot in the fifth. “That’s not something you see every day,” said Ortiz, who wore a black cap with a Superman logo to his postgame press conference.
Sept. 30, 2016
No. 541
The last home run of Ortiz’s career was, fittingly, a game-winner. His two-run blast in the seventh inning off Brett Cecil gave the Sox a 5-3 victory. Ortiz managed to pull a sinker down the line in right, deep into the seats beyond the Pesky Pole. “He turned this place upside-down,” manager John Farrell said.
Let’s dive into Ortiz’s year-by-year numbers.
Big Papi joined the Red Sox in 2003, with 58 home runs already under his belt as a Twin. He hit 31 home runs that season. He hit even more — 38 — in his final season in the big leagues, 2016.
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Ortiz’s 54 home runs in 2006 stand as the Red Sox record. He also holds the No. 3 spot on the list with 47 in 2005.
You can explore his year-by-year output below. Take a look at where those home runs landed, and how he climbed the charts to 558.
- Solo
- Two-run
- Three-run
- Grand slam
1997 - Minnesota Twins
Total
1
By type
1998 - Minnesota Twins
Total
9
By type
2000 - Minnesota Twins
Total
10
By type
2001 - Minnesota Twins
Total
18
By type
2002 - Minnesota Twins
Total
20
By type
2003 - Boston Red Sox
Total
33
By type
2004 - Boston Red Sox
Total
46
By type
2005 - Boston Red Sox
Total
48
By type
2006 - Boston Red Sox
Total
54
By type
2007 - Boston Red Sox
Total
38
By type
2008 - Boston Red Sox
Total
24
By type
2009 - Boston Red Sox
Total
28
By type
2010 - Boston Red Sox
Total
32
By type
2011 - Boston Red Sox
Total
29
By type
2012 - Boston Red Sox
Total
23
By type
2013 - Boston Red Sox
Total
35
By type
2014 - Boston Red Sox
Total
35
By type
2015 - Boston Red Sox
Total
37
By type
2016 - Boston Red Sox
Total
38
By type
Ortiz’s legend is cemented in Red Sox history. His No. 34 was retired in 2017, in a ceremony at Fenway Park featuring Red Sox greats Pedro Martinez, Jim Rice, Wade Boggs, and Carl Yastrzemski. In May, he was inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame. And now, he’ll be immortalized in Cooperstown.
And now, Ortiz is a Baseball Hall of Famer.
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Credits
- Reporters: Peter Abraham, Alex Speier, and John Hancock
- Editor: Katie McInerney
- Design, development, and graphics: John Hancock
- Copy editor: John Carney
- Photo editor: Leanne Burden Seidel
- SEO: Cameron Muir
- Audience engagement: Devin Smith, Maddie Mortell
- Quality assurance: Jackson Pace and Meredith Stern
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