Baseball Hall of Fame welcomes the Class of 2022 Inductees to Cooperstown

Introduction

On Sunday, July 24th, 2022 the Baseball Hall of Fame located in Cooperstown, New York honored and celebrated the 2022 class of inductees as they were enshrined into baseball immortality. The new 7 - members that were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame included: David Ortiz, Tony Oliva, Jim Kaat, Bud Fowler, Gil Hodges, Minnie Minoso, as well as Buck O’Neil.

David Ortiz

David “Big Papi” Ortiz is just the 58th 1st - ballot Baseball Hall of Famer and the 14th since 2014. This big - league slugger came out of the Dominican Republic, and he played both first base as well designated hitter over the course of his Major League Baseball career. Ortiz played for the Minnesota Twins from 1997 - 2002, and with the Boston Red Sox from 2003 - 2016. “Big Papi” finished his MLB career with a batting average of .286, with 2,472 - hits, 541 - home runs, and 1,768 - RBIs.

“This game is so important here in America and around the world. Thank you for all the support you have given baseball as a sport, so that it continues to be part of our culture and part of the heart of all the fans worldwide,” David Ortiz said.

Baseball Career Achievements, Honors, & Awards

• 10 - Time MLB All - Star Selection (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016)
• 3 - Time MLB World Series Champion (2004, 2007, 2013)
• World Series MVP Award Winner (2013)
• American League Championship Series MVP Award Winner (2004)
• 7 - Time Silver Slugger Award Winner (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2013, 2016)
• 2 - Time American League Hank Aaron Award Winner (2005, 2016)
• Roberto Clemente Award Winner (2011)
• American League Home Run Leader (2006)
• 3 - Time American League RBI Leader (2005, 2006, 2016)
• Boston Red Sox Jersey Number 34 Retired
• Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame Inductee

Tony Oliva

Tony Oliva came out of Cuba, and he played both right - field as well designated hitter over the course of his Major League Baseball career. Oliva played for the Minnesota Twins from 1962 - 1976. Tony finished his MLB career with a batting average of .304, with 1,917 - hits, 220 - home runs, and 947 - RBIs.

“I have a lot of family here today who came out from a long, long way. Friends who came a long, long way. I appreciate it very much. Especially those people in Minnesota. I’ve lived in Minnesota for 60 years, and Minnesota is my home,” Tony Oliva said.

Baseball Career Achievements, Honors, & Awards

• 8 - Time MLB All - Star Selection (1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971)
• 2 - Time MLB World Series Champion (1987, 1991)
• American League Rookie of the Year Award Winner (1964)
• Gold Glove Award Winner (1966)
• 3 - Time American League Batting Champion (1964, 1965, 1971)
• Minnesota Twins Jersey Number 6 Retired
• Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame Inductee

Jim Kaat

Jim Kaat came out of Zeeland Michigan, and he played the position of a pitcher over the course of his Major League Baseball career. Kaat played for the Washington Senators from 1959 - 1973, the Chicago White Sox from 1973 - 1975, the Philadelphia Phillies from 1976 - 1979, the New York Yankees from 1979 - 1980, and the St. Louis Cardinals from 1980 - 1983. Jim finished his MLB career with a win / loss record of 283 - 237, an earned run average of 3.45, and 2,461 - strikeouts.

“We have a world with millions of people who are disadvantaged, oppressed, wake up daily to pain and suffering. I was able to live -- and still am -- a comfortable life for over 83 - years. I had great parents. I grew up in a great community, Zeeland, Michigan, and I was gifted with the ability to play baseball. And I’m grateful for that,” Jim Kaat said.

Jim Kaat’s Baseball Career Achievements, Honors, & Awards

• 3 - Time MLB All - Star Selection (1962, 1966, 1975)
• MLB World Series Champion (1982)
• 16 - Time Gold Glove Award Winner (1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977)
• American League Wins Leader (1966)
• Minnesota Twins Jersey Number 36 Retired
• Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame Inductee

Bud Fowler

Cooperstown is known incorrectly but everlastingly as the “birthplace of baseball.” Yet, Bud Fowler, who was actually born John W. Jackson, is surprisingly the very first Baseball Hall of Fame inductee who originally comes from Cooperstown, New York. Fowler played pitcher, catcher, the infield, the outfield, and he was a manager all in the Negro Leagues. He debuted in the Negro Leagues in 1895 for the Page Fence Giants, and Bud’s last appearance was in 1898 for the Cuban Giants.

Fowler’s induction partners, appropriately, with the Baseball Hall of Fame’s recent unmasking of a two - year project in order to create a permanent exhibit on Black - baseball and a more in depth look into the Negro Leagues of American baseball.

Bud is believed to have been the very 1st - black player to integrate in to white professional baseball leagues as he debuted in the International Association way back in the year of 1878.

Due to him dealing with extremely aggressive and rampant racism was the driving force that bounced Fowler from team to team until the color barrier which became more explicit and ultimately relegated him to all - black ball clubs, but Bud was a visionary who imagined the notion of the Negro Leagues decades before they were actually formed.

“There’s an unmistakable line you can follow from Bud Fowler to Andrew Rube Foster, who created the Negro Leagues in 1920, to Jackie Robinson in 1947 and through the other inductees we celebrate here today. So, I ask -- or I suggest -- that you remember Bud Fowler in a broad context, not just as a pioneering African - American professional baseball player. Remember him as a skilled athlete who endured obstacles that are hard to imagine today, as an early force in integrating the game and as a visionary who attempted to create a league of their own when the roadblocks of his time were present,” Dave Winfield said.

Gil Hodges

Gil Hodges came out of Princeton, Indiana, and he played first base as well as becoming a major league manager later on during the course of his Major League Baseball career. Hodges played for the Brooklyn Dodgers / Los Angeles Dodgers in 1943 and from 1947 - 1961, and with the New York Mets from 1962 - 1963.

Gil managed in the big - leagues for the Washington Senators from 1963 - 1967 as well as with the New York Mets from 1968 - 1971. Hodges finished his MLB career with a batting average of .273, with 1,921 - hits, 370 - home runs, and 1,274 - RBIs. He had a managerial record of 650 - 753 which was good for a winning percentage of .463 as a manager.

“Fifty years ago, not only did the Mets and Dodgers lose one of their heroes, we lost a husband and a father. Our greatest gift, although my father’s life was cut so short, was his influence on those around him. Nothing was more important to my dad than giving Jackie all of his support. We were like family with the Robinsons. Jackie’s kids played in our house; we played in theirs. … My dad had an open heart for Jackie. They were close until the day my dad passed. On the day of my father’s funeral, Jackie cried uncontrollably, saying, ‘Next to my son’s death, this is the worst day of my life,’” Gil Hodge’s daughter, Irene Hodges, said.

Baseball Career Achievements, Honors, & Awards

• 8 - Time MLB All - Star Selection (1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1957)
• 3 - Time MLB World Series Champion (1955, 1959, 1969)
• 3 - Time Gold Glove Award Winner (1957, 1958, 1959)
• Hit 4 - Home Runs in a Single MLB Game (August 31, 1950)
• Los Angeles Dodgers Jersey Number 14 Retired
• New York Mets Jersey Number 14 Retired
• New York Mets Hall of Fame Inductee

Minnie Miñoso

Minnie Miñoso came out of Cuba, and he played left - field for the majority of the course of his Major League Baseball career. Minnie played for the New York Cubans of the Negro Leagues from 1947 - 1949, with the Cleveland Indians from 1949 - 1951, the Chicago White Sox from 1951 - 1957, the Cleveland Indians again from 1958 - 1959, the Chicago White Sox once again from 1960 - 1961, the St. Louis Cardinals in 1962, the Washington Senators in 1963, and the Chicago White Sox for a third stint in 1964, 1976, and 1980. Minoso finished his MLB career with a batting average of .299, with 2,110 - hits, 195 - home runs, and 1,093 - RBIs.

“While Minnie’s been inducted to other esteemed Halls of Fame, including Cuba and the Dominican Republic, it would have meant the world to Minnie to see this day and be here himself. As a dark - skinned Afro - Latino in the height of segregation, he knew of the racial and cultural challenges that he would endure coming to the United States. He tolerated them so he could play professional baseball and fulfill his own American dream. Little did he know as a pioneer that he was opening doors for countless others behind him, some of whom sit proudly on this stage. Today’s honor bestowed upon Minnie is most appropriate not only as a Hall of Fame player, but Minnie was always a gentleman and Hall of Fame person off the field and in the community,” Minnie Miñoso’s widow, Sharon Rice - Miñoso, said.

Baseball Career Achievements, Honors, & Awards

• 2 - Time Negro League All - Star Selection (1947, 1948)
• 9 - Time MLB All - Star Selection (1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1957, 1959, 1960, 1960²)
• Negro World Series Champion (1947)
• 3 - Time Gold Glove Award Winner (1957, 1959, 1960)
• 3 - Time American League Stolen Base Leader (1951, 1952, 1953)
• Chicago White Sox Jersey Number 9 Retired

Buck O’Neil

Buck O’Neil came out of Carrabelle, Florida, and he played first base for the majority of the course of his Major League Baseball career. O’Neil debuted for the Memphis Red Sox of the Negro Leagues in 1937, and his last baseball appearance as a player was with the historic and legendary Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues back in 1955. Buck finished his baseball career with a batting average of .258, with 342 - hits, 9 - home runs, and 175 - RBIs.

“We applaud the committee for not subjectively limiting their interpretation of an exceptional career in baseball to a singular focus on statistics. In other words, expanding their view to include the totality of one’s work in baseball. For those of us who knew Uncle John, can’t you hear him excitedly voicing one of his favorite phrases, ‘Man oh man, nothing could be better!’ Our Uncle John was a man for all seasons, whose core was brotherly love,” Buck O’Neil’s niece, Dr. Angela Terry, said.

Baseball Career Achievements, Honors, & Awards

• 2 - Time Negro League All - Star Selection (1942, 1943)
• Negro World Series Champion (1942)

Sources:

“Historic Class of 2022 Inducted”, Bill Francis, baseballhall.org, July 26, 2022.

“Hall of Fame welcomes Class of 2022”, Anthony Castrovince, mlb.com, July 26, 2022.

“David Ortiz”, baseball-reference.com, Tuesday, July 26, 2022.

“Tony Oliva”, baseball-reference.com, Tuesday, July 26, 2022.

“Jim Kaat”, baseball-reference.com, Tuesday, July 26, 2022.

“Bud Fowler”, baseball-reference.com, Tuesday, July 26, 2022.

“Gil Hodges”, baseball-reference.com, Tuesday, July 26, 2022.

“Minnie Minoso”, baseball-reference.com, Tuesday, July 26, 2022.

“Buck O’Neil”, baseball-reference.com, Tuesday, July 26, 2022.