Major League Baseball announced today that David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox has been voted the winner of the 2016 Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award. Ortiz received overwhelming support to garner the honor for his record-extending eighth time in his excellent career (also 2003-07, 2011, 2013). Seattle's Edgar Martinez has earned the second-most awards, taking home the honor five times during his career (1995, 1997-98, 2000-01). In addition to Ortiz, three previous Red Sox players have been tabbed as the league's top designated hitter, including Hall of Famers Orlando Cepeda (1973) and Jim Rice (1977), as well as Don Baylor (1986). Nelson Cruz of the Seattle Mariners finished second after hitting .304 (125-for-411) with 18 doubles, 33 home runs, 85 RBI and 72 runs scored in 107 games as DH for the Mariners this past season.
Ortiz batted .319 (168-for-527) with 48 doubles, 38 home runs, 126 RBI and 79 runs scored in 140 games as DH for the Red Sox en route to receiving his seventh Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger Award, extending his all-time mark for most Silver Sluggers for a DH in MLB history, and becoming the Red Sox' all-time leader. Among AL leaders, the 40-year-old finished the season first in doubles (48) and slugging percentage (.620); tied for first in RBI (127); third in on-base percentage (.401); sixth in batting average (.315); and tied for eighth in home runs (38).
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the veteran slugger set single-season records for players age 40-or-over in doubles, extra-base hits (87), home runs and RBI. Ortiz tallied more than 85 extra-base hits for the fifth time in his career, joining Hall of Famers Lou Gehrig (8), Babe Ruth (7), Stan Musial (5) and Hank Greenberg (5) as the only players in MLB history to accomplish the feat. On September 30th, "Big Papi" delivered two go-ahead hits, including a go-ahead two-run homer in the seventh inning, the last of his storied career. The extra-base hit was the 1,192nd of his career, matching Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. and Rafael Palmeiro for eighth on MLB's all-time list. Additionally, the Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic native finished a double shy (524) of Hall of Famer Ted Williams (525) for second on the Red Sox' all-time list. Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski paces the organization with 646 two-baggers in a Red Sox uniform. Ortiz, who played 20 seasons in the Majors between the Minnesota Twins (1997-2002) and the Red Sox (2003-16), recorded a 13-game hitting streak from May 21st-June 5th, his longest of the season. During his hot stretch, Boston's iconic leader batted .440 (22-for-50) with eight runs scored, 10 doubles, six home runs and 20 RBI. Ortiz posted the best month of his historic season in May, when he hit .347 (34-for-98) with 12 doubles, a triple, nine home runs and 28 RBI. Propelled by David's outstanding season, the Red Sox won the AL East with a 93-69 record, and finished with the AL's second best mark of the 2016 campaign.
Now in its 43rd season, the Outstanding Designated Hitter Award was renamed by Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig in a September 2004 ceremony at Safeco Field in honor of retiring Seattle Mariners great Edgar Martinez. Ballots are cast by club beat writers, broadcasters and AL public relations departments with nominees including all players with a minimum of 100 at-bats as a designated hitter.
Previous Winners Include:
1973 -- Orlando Cepeda (Boston)
1974 -- Tommy Davis (Baltimore)
1975 -- Willie Horton (Detroit)
1976 -- Hal McRae (Kansas City)
1977 -- Jim Rice (Boston)
1978 -- Rusty Staub (Detroit)
1979 -- Willie Horton (Seattle)
1980 -- Hal McRae (Kansas City)
1981 -- Greg Luzinski (Chicago)
1982 -- Hal McRae (Kansas City)
1983 -- Greg Luzinski (Chicago)
1984 -- Dave Kingman (Oakland)
1985 -- Don Baylor (New York)
1986 -- Don Baylor (Boston)
1987 -- Harold Baines (Chicago)
1988 -- Harold Baines (Chicago)
1989 -- Dave Parker (Oakland)
1990 -- Dave Parker (Milwaukee)
1991 -- Chili Davis (Minnesota)
1992 -- Dave Winfield (Toronto)
1993 -- Paul Molitor (Toronto)
1994 -- Not awarded
1995 -- Edgar Martinez (Seattle)
1996 -- Paul Molitor (Minnesota)
1997 -- Edgar Martinez (Seattle)
1998 -- Edgar Martinez (Seattle)
1999 -- Rafael Palmeiro (Texas)
2000 -- Edgar Martinez (Seattle)
2001 -- Edgar Martinez (Seattle)
2002 -- Ellis Burks (Cleveland)
2003 -- David Ortiz (Boston)
2004 -- David Ortiz (Boston)
2005 -- David Ortiz (Boston)
2006 -- David Ortiz (Boston)
2007 -- David Ortiz (Boston)
2008 -- Aubrey Huff (Baltimore)
2009 -- Adam Lind (Toronto)
2010 -- Vladimir Guerrero (Texas)
2011 -- David Ortiz (Boston)
2012 -- Billy Butler (Kansas City)
2013 -- David Ortiz (Boston)
2014 -- Victor Martinez (Detroit)
2015 -- Kendrys Morales (Kansas City)