Stories from inside the HOF: David Ortiz

For many, Dominican David Ortiz was the modern icon of Latino baseball culture.

After 14 years with the Boston Red Sox and 20 seasons overall, Big Papi retired as one of the best all-time designated hitters and a slew of accolades: the Red Sox’ single-season record for home runs, three World Series championships and 10 All-Star appearances, to name a few.

But this is a smaller, more poignant story. The story of a son’s love.

By pointing to the sky every time he crossed home plate after hitting a home run, “Big Papi” paid tribute to his late mom. And the gloves that Ortiz wore when he hit his 400th home run now belong to the National Baseball Hall of Hame & Museum.