Should David Ortiz appear tonight for the Red Sox against the Yankees at Fenway Park as the designated hitter, and by all accounts he will, he will set a new Major League Baseball record for most appearances as a DH with 1644 games, surpassing former slugger Harold Baines. Ortiz already holds the record for most starts in league history by a DH with 1625, well ahead of Baines at 1565 starts.
Big Papi is far and away the leader in most offensive categories as a designated hitter: most plate appearances (7188), most hits (1779), most doubles (450), most home runs (385), and most RBI (1256). Counting only players with at least 2000 plate appearances as a DH, his OPS of .941 ranks second to Edgar Martinez (.959).
Not surprisingly, Ortiz is far and above the leader in franchise history.
| Name | No. Games | PA | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Ortiz | 1364 | 6060 |
| 2 | Jim Rice | 530 | 2256 |
| 3 | Carl Yastrzemski | 414 | 1712 |
| 4 | Reggie Jefferson | 305 | 1173 |
| 5 | Dwight Evans | 265 | 1110 |
| 6 | Mike Easler | 256 | 1091 |
| 7 | Don Baylor | 240 | 1018 |
| 8 | Manny Ramirez | 232 | 1014 |
| 9 | Jack Clark | 199 | 845 |
| 10 | Jose Canseco | 185 | 826 |