MINNEAPOLIS — Red Sox slugger David Ortiz will likely join Jim Rice in the Hall of Fame some day. On Tuesday, he matched Rice on Boston’s all-time home run list.
Ortiz hit two home runs in an 8-6 loss to the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday at Target Field to give him 382 long balls in a Boston uniform, tying him with Red Sox lifer Rice for third on the club’s all-time list.
“It’s a matter of time,” Ortiz said. “We just try to keep up with the game.” He trails only Red Sox legends Ted Williams, who had 521 home runs with Boston, and Carl Yastrzemski, who had 452 homers in a Red Sox uniform.
“One day you’ll be at home and you’ll see your name next to those guys,” Ortiz said.
“It’s a pretty good dang career.”
Rice played his entire career for the Red Sox from 1974 to 1989. He was an eight-time All-Star and the Most Valuable Player in the American League in 1978. When Rice’s career ended, he was 10th in AL history in home runs. He also had 2,452 hits, 1,451 RBIs and 4,129 total bases. Rice was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on July 26, 2009.
Ortiz, who spent his first six seasons in the majors with the Twins, now has 440 career home runs. He’s in his 12th season with the Red Sox. Ortiz, a native of the Dominican Republic, is a nine-time All-Star, a three-time World Series champion and the Red Sox’s single-season record-holder for home runs with 54 in 2006. Ortiz is the all- time leader in MLB history for home runs, RBIs (1,264) and hits (1,793) by a DH.