Well, you called it--I think Ortiz' personal popularity was instrumental in getting him just over the line. That, and the fact that some of the knock on DH candidates was put to rest when Edgar Martinez made it in.

But since this is noir...perhaps we should focus our attention on the very interesting Japanese noir that features a baseball player (and some nefarious corporate activity): I WILL BUY YOU. Definitely worth a watch--while folks resign themselves to another manifestation of America's current "tyranny of the minority" with Bonds & Clemens rolled off the ballot in their final year (thanks also to the transparently biased decision to curtail ballot eligibility).