Some People Took That Whole ‘Big Papi for Mayor’ Joke Seriously

Credit; Steve Annear

David Ortiz won the most write-in votes for mayor during Tuesday’s election, according to City Hall. There’s no official write-in tally, but spokesman John Guilfoil tells the Boston Herald that counters noticed a “high number” of votes for Papi. This is kind of stunning news, but we suppose it shouldn’t be surprising.

The last weeks of the Mayoral election in Boston coinciding as they did with the Red Sox World Series’ win, there was many a “David Ortiz for Mayor” joke. Ortiz, after all, was having a standout playoff run, so you had to imagine he’d do well at the polls. (Though Facebook fans declined to name the new baby zebra ‘Papi’ in his honor.) Buzzfeed even devised 12 Reasons David Ortiz Should Be Boston’s Next Mayor, (a tale told, you guessed it, in GIFs.)

So why shouldn’t voters unenthused with either candidate (or uninformed) just adhere to the political endorsements of a popular listicle? Although, David Ortiz has raised kids in Weston, Mass., and in an election when John Connolly was heckled with calls to move to Newton, we imagine that wouldn’t have played well with voters. But then, John Connolly didn’t have a .733 World Series batting average at any point, now did he?