Sox Fans Launch Campaign to Get David Ortiz the Bronze Statue He Deserves

Image courtesy Brian Cody/Sox Lunch

Bobby Orr has one. Red Auerbach has one. It took far too long, but Bill Russell got one in 2014. Hell, Ted Williams has two.

Boston’s greatest winners have been immortalized in bronze statues across the city (except Larry Bird, most glaringly). So how long until Big Papi gets one?

The creators of the daily newsletter Sox Lunch hope to ensure the wait isn’t all that long. Coinciding with David Ortiz’s farewell season, which has seen the Red Sox slugger perform age-defying feats at an astonishing 40 years old, their campaign hopes to see Big Papi’s likeness in bronze no later than Opening Day 2017.

“Doesn’t Big Papi deserve to join the other Baseball gods in front of our baseball cathedral?” said Sox Lunch founder Kevin Phelan in a release announcing the “Bronze Papi Campaign.”

In addition to the Change.org petition, Phelan has notified City Hall and the State House of their efforts, as well as Major League Baseball and the Red Sox. So what’s it going to be, John Henry?

“When Boston needed someone to stand up for our city the most, back on that dark day when we saw the evil of terrorism stop our quaint little Hub; when we needed someone to offer strong legs and a broad back to literally lift us and carry us,” Phelan wrote, “David Ortiz was there, with a baseball bat, glove, and a microphone in his hand. Papi represented us.”

In the event Ortiz returns for one more season, as some have speculated, Phelan has offered to push back the statue’s dedication to 2018. How magnanimous.