Red Sox slugger David Ortiz is playing in his final season and he's definitely making the most of it. On Wednesday, he hit a two-run shot in the first inning.
That was Ortiz's 30th home run and also got him 100 RBI. Those two stats in tandem with Ortiz's age (40) and his 40 doubles give us a litany of notables.
- Ortiz is now the oldest player in MLB history to hit 30 home runs in a season. Raul Ibanez hit 29 as a 41 year old.
- This marks Ortiz's 10th 100-RBI season, passing Ted Williams for the most in Red Sox history.
- This is the 10th time that Ortiz has reached both 30 homers and 100 RBI. He joins Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez, Jimmie Foxx, Babe Ruth, Albert Pujols, Barry Bonds, Rafael Palmeiro, Hank Aaron and Lou Gehrig as the only players to achieve this feat.
- This is the fourth time Ortiz has reached 30 homers, 100 RBI and 40 doubles in a season. Only Albert Pujols, Lou Gehrig, Mark Teixeira, Miguel Cabrera, Stan Musial and Hank Greenberg have done that.
- That above bullet about the 30-100-40 thing? No player listed did it later than 33 years old (Musial). Ortiz is 40.
- The only players to ever reach 100 RBI at age 40 or later are Dave Winfield (108 in 1992 at age 40) and Harold Baines (103 in 1999 at age 40). So Ortiz has joined them and will surely be passing them this season, barring injury.
There's probably more, but this is a nice snapshot of something we pretty much already knew. Ortiz's career is among the best ever when it comes to power over the long-term and his final season is historic when it comes to his age.
