David Ortiz elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame; Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens fall short

Ortiz’s candidacy was no less complicated than those of Bonds and Clemens. Ortiz spent most of his career as a DH, meaning he rarely played the field. Among Hall of Famers, only Harold Baines, Edgar Martinez, Paul Molitor and Frank Thomas can say the same. Ortiz hit more home runs (541) than any of them, and his on-base-plus-slugging percentage (.931) is just two points lower than Martinez’s. 

Ortiz’s name was on a list of players who came up positive for performance-enhancing drugs when MLB tested players, supposedly anonymously, before implementing a drug policy a year later. Ortiz never tested positive afterward, and he spent the next decade taking some of the most memorable and meaningful swings in Red Sox history.

“You don’t know what anybody tested positive for,” Ortiz said when asked about that test. “… I never failed a drug test [after the testing policy was put in place in 2004]. What does that tell you?”.

Alex Rodriguez, one of the best shortstops of all time and who accumulated 113.7 Wins Above Replacement, per FanGraphs, did not come close to reaching 75 percent in his first year on the ballot, finishing with 34.3. Rodriguez tested positive for steroids and was suspended for 162 games in 2014.

Gary Sheffield, the hard-hitting outfielder who compiled 62.1 WAR, finished with 40.6 percent. Sheffield admitted to using steroids during the 2002 season, but he claimed he did so unknowingly.