Red Sox slugger Ortiz on track for baseball hall election

By JIMMY GOLEN
AP Sports Writer

BOSTON (AP) — Boston’s Big Papi appears headed to the Baseball Hall of Fame, and he won’t need a last-minute walk-off to get there. The Red Sox slugger looks to be on track for induction in Cooperstown this summer, riding the strength of his on- and off-field achievements to overcome stigmas that have stalled or derailed the candidacies of some of his predecessors. Namely, Ortiz appears to have bucked anti-designated hitter sentiment that has been blunted by several DHs in the past decade. And Ortiz’s lone reported positive for performance-enhancing drugs seems to be hurting him less than the more substantial evidence against candidates like Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Alex Rodriguez. Results of the balloting will be released on Tuesday.