COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — They spoke of the racism and cruelties they endured while becoming the greatest ballplayers in the world.
They spoke proudly of their Cuban and Dominican and even Michigan roots.
They spoke of the perseverance and fight it took that led them to baseball immortality.
There were two hours spent celebrating the Hall of Fame class — Tony Oliva, Jim Kaat, the late Minnie Minoso, the late Gil Hodges and the late Buck O’Neil — telling the stories and journey it took to get to baseball heaven, with the crowd of 35,000 catching their breath and readying themselves for the glorious finale.
Who else?
David Ortiz, Big Papi.
You couldn’t walk around town this weekend without seeing Dominican flags, Ortiz shirts and jerseys, Boston Red Sox hats, anything and everything showing their love for one of the most beloved baseball sluggers of his generation.
The moment Ortiz walked onto stage, the crowd erupted, with fans chanting, “Papi! Papi! Papi!,’’ waving Dominican flags.
Ortiz, who said he cried often practicing his speech and thinking of his late mother and father, looked out at the crowd of about 35,000, and yelled out:
“Hello, my people!
“Wow! Cooperstown!’’
“I was not surprised to see all of my people representing the Dominican Republic,’’ Ortiz said. “The Dominican Republic, we have a lot of wonderful people that believe in God. I’m so lucky. It’s such a beautiful place with beautiful people.’’
Ortiz, whose daughter, Alex, sang the national anthem before the induction, spoke for 18 minutes in Spanish and English, before eloquently summing up his emotional day.
“You know me,’’ Ortiz said, “I’m always outspoken, I’m always saying what I feel like saying. I’m always joking around. I’m always being me.
“But you have the whole planet, the whole nation watching you, and you want to deliver a positive message — especially the way life is going nowadays — so people understand that we need to stay together. We need to be more humble. We need to share more love because that’s what we need.
“A lot of bad things are happening nowadays, we need to step up and make things different.’’
MORE: Meet the 2022 Baseball Hall of Fame class
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While the large contingent of Dominican Republic fans wildly celebrated their native son, Ortiz made sure to let Boston and New England know just…