BOSTON -- The man has given Red Sox fans every possible thrill, from a team standpoint, over the last four years. Walk-off hits galore. Big hits in the late innings too plentiful to track without a calculator. An October of 2004 that was for the ages.

But Thursday night, it was all about David Ortiz, the player and the person. This was about the historic accomplishment of an individual, one who virtually everyone that inhabited Fenway Park -- particularly those stationed in the Boston dugout -- seemed to take immense joy in.

Ortiz set a team record for home runs in a season by belting No. 51 in the bottom of the first inning against Twins left-hander and American League Cy Young Award candidate Johan Santana. It soared off the bat like a rising missile, landing in the bleachers behind the Red Sox's bullpen in right-center.

Only Big Papi could have an encore as worthy as what he provided in the bottom of the seventh, when he sent No. 52 flying over the wall in straightaway center field.

"Great feeling," said Ortiz. "Especially doing it here at home in front of my fans. I think the whole [Red Sox] Nation really enjoys when you do something like that at home. It's pretty fun. I mean, people were just going crazy out there."

Ortiz set the record just one night after he equaled Jimmie Foxx as the only players in the tradition-laden history of the Red Sox to hit 50 home runs in one season.

By the time he got back to the dugout following the record-setter, it seemed as if every uniformed member of the Red Sox was on the top step mobbing him.

"It was fun just to be a part of it and to just sit and watch it," said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. "David means so much to all of us, and I think the best thing I can say, probably the most honest thing I can say, is that as good a hitter as he is, he's probably a better person. That's saying something."

With a four-game road series in Toronto starting on Friday, Ortiz couldn't have been more pleased to secure the record at home.

"It's good for our organization, because now people are going to believe that there are guys capable of breaking records from way back," said Ortiz. "It's good for our fans. They give us a lot of support. They always, no matter what situation is going on out there, they still give us support."

So, for one memorable night at Fenway, it seemed not to matter that the Red Sox, though still hanging on by a thread from a mathematical standpoint, will not be participating in postseason baseball this year.

"One word comes to mind: unbelievable," said Red Sox right-hander Josh Beckett, who earned the win. "It gave me chills after he hit 51 and then 52."

And, in one of the lightest moments of the night, Ortiz actually felt a chill when he returned to his own dugout after No. 52.

Francona, the first person Ortiz walked by, just stared directly ahead and didn't say anything. As Ortiz started to walk back to his spot in the dugout, nobody moved. Then, in what seemed like an instant, everybody mobbed him.

Who orchestrated the prank?

"Curt, my man Curt [Schilling]," laughed Ortiz. "When I was walking back to the dugout, I saw everybody pretty quiet. I was a little surprised, but it kind of clicked into my head. ... I knew they might give me kind of crazy treatment for a minute. But as soon as I started walking in between everybody, they just jumped on me."

Just like they've jumped on his back en route to big victories so many times over the last four seasons.

The fact that Ortiz produced such magic against the Twins was fitting, in a way. For it was the Twins who released him following the 2002 season, a pink slip which wound up leading Ortiz to Boston, where he has become a legend.

"He is a good friend to a lot of people in this clubhouse, including me," said Twins manager Ron Gardenhire. "He is very well respected. Even though he whacked us tonight, I still tip my hat to him because ... what a year. I think that's two years in a row where I think the MVP could go right next to his name."

And the fact that No. 51 came against Santana, a man Ortiz grew close with during their joint time with the Twins, was also special.

"Santana and me, we are like brothers," Ortiz said. "We came up in the Twins organization together, but there's one thing that everybody should know, and that's that when you cross the lines, you've got to do your thing and I've got to do mine."

The pitcher who benefited from Ortiz's show was Beckett, who rode the support to his 16th victory of the season.

"With the clutch hits, the home runs, the clutch home runs," said Beckett, "he's a pretty special beast, if you will."

Fittingly, "The Beast" was one of the nicknames Foxx carried throughout his legendary career.

But Ortiz has his own signature nickname -- Big Papi -- and now a space all to himself as the most prolific single-season power hitter in Red Sox history.