Over the last decade one constant for The Boston Red Sox has been
designated hitter David Ortiz. The Red Sox picked Ortiz up off of the
scrap heap after The Minnesota Twins released him in 2002. The Sox made
him their permanent designated hitter as his popularity has risen to
iconic status. Chants of “Lets Go Papi” consistently resonate around
Fenway Park in Boston or wherever The Red Sox play as the team has a
loyal fan base that travels around the country to see them play. In his
first season in Boston, Ortiz hit 31 home runs with 101 runs batted in,
but The Red Sox fell to The New York Yankees in The American League
Championship Series in seven games.
Ortiz and the rest of the “idiots” came back in 2004 from a 3-0 hole to
the same Yankees team to win The ALCS and reverse the curse of Babe
Ruth. After dispatching of The St. Louis Cardinals in four games in The
World Series, The Red Sox had finally won it all for the first time in
86 years. The man who is affectionately known throughout Major League
Baseball as “Big Papi” helped The Red Sox win another World Series Title
in 2007.
Ortiz has seen his fair share of controversy swirl around The Red Sox as
well. In 2009, The New York Times reported that Ortiz was among nearly
100 major league players to have tested positive for
performance-enhancing drugs in 2003. Ortiz denied using steroids, but
attributed the positive test result to his use of supplements and
vitamins during this period.
Ortiz was witness to the on-again, off-again relationship between
outfielder Manny Ramirez and general manager Theo Epstein which
eventually resulted in Ramirez being traded to The Los Angeles Dodgers
in 2008. The unrest came to a head in 2011 when The Red Sox became the
new and improved “worst team that money could buy”. After missing the
playoffs in 2010, Epstein signed free agent outfielder Carl Crawford
away from the division rival Tampa Bay Rays and acquired first baseman
Adrian Gonzalez from The San Diego Padres. The Sox were a perennial
favorite to win The Fall Classic, but after going 7-20 in the month of
September, they fell one game short of the playoffs as The Yankees won
The American League East while The Rays won The Wild Card.
In the aftermath, Epstein left Boston in favor of The Windy City to
become team president of The Chicago Cubs. All-Star closer Johnathan
Papelbon left as a free agent and signed with The Philadelphia Phillies.
Manager Terry Francona was let go while starting pitcher Jose Beckett
was left to become the whipping boy for what was alleged to be a
dysfunctional locker room.
Bobby Valentine assumed the role as manager of The Red Sox while Ben
Cherington was promoted to general manager. Many felt that Boston would
still have chemistry issues, but not Ortiz.
Entering play Wednesday, Ortiz is fifth in The American League in
batting average at .314. Ortiz leads Boston in home runs with (17), and
runs batted in (45). The Sox started the season slow for the second
consecutive season as they came out of the gate at 4-10. At 34-33,The
Sox are in last place in The AL East, but this division is the toughest
in all of baseball and they are due to go a serious tear.
ESPN The Magazine’s Buster Olney wrote in his blog on Monday that an
“unhappiness that exists among the Boston players and staff is
multi-layered and deep”. Ortiz who generally lets his play do the
talking defended the environment there. According to ESPN Boston’s Joe
McDonald Ortiz said, ” Players come here and do what they’re supposed to
do and try to win ballgames–win or lose”.
This whole incident comes at an unfortunate time for The Red Sox. Boston
has won five of their last six ball games. They are also anticipating
outfielders Carl Crawford and Jacoby Ellsbury to begin rehab assignments
while Beckett will soon return from the disabled list after suffering a
shoulder injury. Ortiz spoke up when Red Sox Nation needed someone to
come to the defense of the team. It seems that the media is ready to
scrutinize this team as soon as they have a two-game losing streak and
Ortiz hopefully put an end to it.
Just like the film “Walking Tall”, Ortiz carries a big stick. Aside from
consistently hitting 30 home runs a year, Papi is the evenflo of The
Red Sox. Ortiz has never shied away from the media whether the sun was
shining or if the team was being hit by a blizzard. Ortiz knows the
history of The Red Sox that includes names such as Ted Williams, Carl
Yastrzemski, Jim Rice, and Dwight Evans to name a few. Ortiz is apart of
that not only for what he does on the field, but like those Red Sox
greats he is a leader.
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