Monday brings reflection for new Hall of Famers

It was a chance for new Hall of Fame inductees Jim Kaat, Tony Oliva and David Ortiz to relax and just chat. But the crowd reminded them of their status as legends as soon as they walked onto the stage by breaking into chants of “Tony” and “Papi”.

Now, though, they are free to enjoy the rest of their lives as Hall of Famers.

“I was on the run all the time, I never had time to sit down, not even to have a cup of coffee,” Ortiz said. “Now I have plenty of time.”

No player in a major sport has had to wait as long for their first ring, he said.

While Oliva never won a World Series ring in his 15-year career with the Twins, he did reach the World Series in 1965 alongside Kaat as Minnesota won the AL pennant.

“You see all these ballplayers crying and having a great time,” Oliva said. “To be a champ, to be able to go to the World Series, that was a huge thing for me.”

During each of their careers, Kaat, Oliva and Ortiz played with numerous Hall of Famers – Rod Carew, Harmon Killebrew, Mike Schmidt and Pedro Martínez, to name a few.

Allen’s wife, Willa, called Kaat to congratulate him upon his election and tell him how happy Dick would’ve been to see Kaat inducted.

“I said, ‘Willa, think about this. They could only vote for four. Dick missed by one vote,’” Kaat said. “‘If it came down to that last voter and he had to choose between Jim Kaat and Dick Allen, and he said ‘I’m going with Dick Allen,’ I’d be calling you.’”

Their legacies have extended beyond the field through their career and into their inductions. Kaat has been a broadcaster for nearly 40 years, and Ortiz has dived into philanthropy with the David Ortiz Children’s Fund, which helps raise money for heart surgery for children in New England and the Dominican Republic.

In Boston, days after the Marathon bombings, Ortiz couldn’t be held back from giving his now infamous “Our City” speech. Gammons said he remembers how angry Ortiz was in the tunnel before going onto the field, unprompted and unscripted.

“That was something that was unexpected and to me, it hit me hard, it hit me deeply,” Ortiz said about the bombing. “I always say this: the same reaction I have, I’m pretty sure anyone around the world would feel the same way.”

At Sunday’s Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, Ortiz discussed how Boston had become his second home, a place he cared for as deeply as the Dominican Republic. One fan in the crowd Monday made it clear how Boston had accepted Ortiz in return, yelling “Thank you Papi!” after he finished talking about his reaction.

The Legends of the Game Roundtable put the exclamation point on Hall of Fame Weekend 2022, which featured the inductions of Bud Fowler, Gil Hodges, Minnie Miñoso and Buck O’Neil along with Kaat, Oliva and Ortiz. The 2023 Induction Ceremony is scheduled for July 23.