It's the spring training field, they're still trying to get their routines down.
David Ortiz will retire at end of 2016 season.
- Thread starter soxhop411
- Start date
“We were talking about what he’s got going on with the restaurant and life after baseball, and then he looks up and he goes, ‘Oh man, I’ve got to go hit,'" Tewksbury recalled recently. "He goes down [to the field] and he went out and hit a three-run homer off somebody, and he comes back in and goes, ‘So, where were we?’”
http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/red-sox/post/_/id/49506/five-thoughts-from-frisco-red-sox-take-hit-in-hunt-for-starting-pitching
http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/red-sox/post/_/id/49506/five-thoughts-from-frisco-red-sox-take-hit-in-hunt-for-starting-pitching
Ortiz is leading MLB in SLG by .105 over Daniel Murphy. In order to find a SLG that is as far below Murphy as Ortiz is above him, you have to go to the #35 guy, Corey Seager.
MLB network just had Pedro doing a segment on his relationship with Papi. I don't have a link yet, but it was amazing.
http://m.mlb.com/bos/video/topic/7417714/v816331283
Edit: added link. Great stuff.
http://m.mlb.com/bos/video/topic/7417714/v816331283
Edit: added link. Great stuff.
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Good thing he doesn't have to prepare to be a fielder
Lack of preparation hasn't been a problem for his bat
Lack of preparation hasn't been a problem for his bat
I'm not knocking Papi one bit here, but after seeing the Jeter and Rivera retirement tours in recent seasons what did he expect. He's a pretty damn beloved player. He was being a little naive if he thought he was going to fly under the radar this season.
He's never one to shy away from the spotlight. I think he loves the attention. If he regrets the announcement, it's probably because he's having second thoughts about retiring.
Did this get posted here?
http://www.theplayerstribune.com/david-ortiz-pedro-martinez-red-sox-dominican-republic/
http://www.theplayerstribune.com/david-ortiz-pedro-martinez-red-sox-dominican-republic/
I mentioned this in the game thread last night: Ortiz is now the sixth player in baseball history to hit 20 home runs in at least 15 consecutive seasons. The others are Ruth, Aaron, Mays, Bonds, and A-Rod.
Yeah, it's finally starting to set in that he's nearly done. It won't be long before I'm wondering whether Ortiz's next home run will be his last. Here's hoping DD throws 30mm at him for another season; I'd be perfectly fine with that kind of overpay on a one year deal.
I'd heard that story about Pedro helping David get to the Red Sox, but I enjoyed the hell out of reading that article. The way things twist and turn on the way to somebody becoming a great player. It's not always like a David Trout path. Thanks for posting it.
This sentiment is great and all, but its not happening. The dude can barely get out of bed, let alone run the bases, etc. His feet/ankles are a mess. If they weren't, he wouldn't be retiring. But he is and as much as it sucks, let's wrap our heads around it and deal with the disappointment.
Another great story on how David came to be from many perspectives...
http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/16656194/boston-red-sox-dh-david-ortiz-breakout-season
http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/16656194/boston-red-sox-dh-david-ortiz-breakout-season
Fantastic article, which lead me to the older one from Ortiz on the best play I ever made, which provided this quote which I still just love. "I can’t believe Hollywood hasn’t made a movie about that season, but maybe people would think it was too unbelievable. They could call the movie The Idiots. We were either too dumb or having too much fun to know we were losing."
Yeah, thanks for this. Somehow I missed it when it came out. This quote is one for the ages:
Right up there with "if you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball." Absolutely classic.
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[QUOTE The baby doll head would dip and dive when you pitched it because it wasn’t totally round. You had to track it as it was coming in. Listen, bro: If you can hit a baby doll head with a broomstick, you can hit an inside cutter. You don’t need a batting cage in the Dominican. You just have to love the game. And you need to be able to fight off your sister when she comes looking for her baby doll.][/QUOTE]
I was on my way to putting that in my signature, between Pedro and Papi I believe we've been treated to two of the best wordsmiths in baseball in the last few decades. I'd love to A) speak fluent Spanish and B) be able to be a fly on the wall when those two get together...
I was on my way to putting that in my signature, between Pedro and Papi I believe we've been treated to two of the best wordsmiths in baseball in the last few decades. I'd love to A) speak fluent Spanish and B) be able to be a fly on the wall when those two get together...
Love this comment from Ortiz' agent, in reference to the moment when the Sox traded Hillenbrand to the Diamondbacks and opened up a regular spot for Papi at DH:
Another great Papi video from his days in the Seattle system with Arod and Griffey
http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/page/allstar2016_96hrderby/how-david-ortiz-stole-show-ken-griffey-alex-rodriguez-home-run-derby
http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/page/allstar2016_96hrderby/how-david-ortiz-stole-show-ken-griffey-alex-rodriguez-home-run-derby
Thanks to the fine members here for sharing the links. Great stories that filled in the general narrative. The HR Derby story was new for me. Loved it!
I didn't see a link to the video, which is worth a look.
http://www.theplayerstribune.com/david-ortiz-dominican-republic-santo-domingo-video/
Pete Abraham @PeteAbe 47s47 seconds ago
Unofficial roll call of “Ortiz should not retire” comments: Altuve, Machado, Betances, Trout, Perez, Encarnacion.
Unofficial roll call of “Ortiz should not retire” comments: Altuve, Machado, Betances, Trout, Perez, Encarnacion.
We all love the guy, obviously. But if he wants to go out with the epic season he is currently having, I think he's deserved that right.
I think he wants to go out with the ability to walk, and is sick of year round training to be able to do so. I really think it is that simple. The guy is hurting, a lot. Have any of those guys above watched the poor man run? It's awful. He does not run like he is old and slow, he runs like he is IN PAIN with every step. One more year is not worth the pain and potential disability to him. Any of you guys have bad achilles? I do. It sucks. And I don't make my living with my lower body. I have come to look at this season as one of the great honors I have ever had as a Red Sox fan. We are witnessing history, witnessing one of the great seasons, by one of the great players, of one of the great franchises in the history of the game. David Ortiz is putting on a show one last time, for us. For US! The man has style. And he deserves to be able to hang 'em up when he's hurt, no matter his OPS or his WAR, without everyone second guessing him.
I think this is basically like saying "you shouldn't have!" to someone who just gave you a present. You may mean it more or less sincerely, but it's a sincere sentiment, not a sincere proposal for action.
https://sports.yahoo.com/video/david-ortiz-feeling-fan-support-163811928.html?format=embed&player_autoplay=true#
Standard friendly interview .. amusing enough until the last question.
"What is the best possible ending..."
and ortiz's answer: " 2 out, bottom of the 9th, we are up by 10, last game of the world series, we are in Fenway park "
the interviewer interjects: . "up by 10 ? "
and ortiz answers: "yeah, so I don't have to panic!"
Gotta love that answer!
(one thing annoying about the pats sb wins is that one had wait until the last second. Great drama, but as partisan fans there is nothing better than just basking in the glory of blowout.
Celts 2008 vs Lakers the classic example!)
Standard friendly interview .. amusing enough until the last question.
"What is the best possible ending..."
and ortiz's answer: " 2 out, bottom of the 9th, we are up by 10, last game of the world series, we are in Fenway park "
the interviewer interjects: . "up by 10 ? "
and ortiz answers: "yeah, so I don't have to panic!"
Gotta love that answer!
(one thing annoying about the pats sb wins is that one had wait until the last second. Great drama, but as partisan fans there is nothing better than just basking in the glory of blowout.
Celts 2008 vs Lakers the classic example!)
Yeah, seriously, bottom of the 9th, up by 10? How long has this guy been playing baseball?
Or closer to home, Game 7 2004 ALCS.....
Circling the bases analysis -
http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/sports_nut/2016/07/david_ortiz_is_the_best_home_run_trotter_of_all_time_here_s_why.htmlSlate said:
Gaw, talk about being spoiled. Yeah, we have four super bowl crowns, but those Patriots made us wait until the end every single time!
Could he? Sure. If he went 20 more this season and 34 next, would it surprise anyone? It doesn't even seem like a stretch, really, given his performance this season. It's an interesting question, for sure.
I've never thought he might come back, but whatever little bit of doubt there might have been was resolved tonight. He hit a gapper all the way to the wall and would have been out at second if he had tried. He really must be hurting.
Just want to say what a great post this is. Perfectly said in bold (especially if you read it in a Knute Rockney voice).
It's definitely making me forgive Jeter and Mo to the the small extent I thought it was annoying. It's different when it's your guy and I understand how that advance notice gives player and fans a chance to cope. Anyone that's been to Fenway this season knows that everything Ortiz is different. His rockstar status at Fenway is otherworldly this year and he and the fans are getting to show their mutual appreciation. If you can manage to sit anywhere this season where you can interact with him, you should. It's really like everyone's just in his living room. It's pretty special.
I was always fine with it. Better to be Seinfeld than Lost, right? It would kill me to watch that man struggle his way into retirement. I tried to explain what he means to my girlfriend and it just came out as: "he's responsible for a large percentage of the moments of pure joy in my life, the kind that don't come with any downside." He's having a dominant season, one that could end up sitting among the best of his career. He's hit a lot of walk offs in his career and appropriately, he's walking off his career. This is his last at bat. This is exactly the way it is supposed to end for David Ortiz.
Hopefully the talent that's been flowing into the organization over the past few years, whatever DD can do within sanity and whatever we can get from guys like Buchholz who have severely underperformed can dovetail and make this season absolutely magical. But even if they don't win the World Series, I'm just going to savor whatever he does this season; I'm not going to waste energy fighting it emotionally, because this is it and it is for us. I'm not religious, but every Ortiz AB will be church for me this season.
Yeah, it wasn't like he was dogging it . They're going to have to rest him quite a bit. The second half schedule is brutal. The Sox only have 5 days off for the rest of the season and one of them is Monday. They have 43 games in 44 days including an 11 day west coast trip.
Could not agree more. As much as I'd like to see him chase 521, he really looks like every step is agony.
To me that was a wall ball single last night. That was an absolute rocket last night to the short right center wall that came easily and quickly to the fielder. That said, his feet are a mess.
This is gonna make him breaking the all-time single season doubles record all the more amazing!
Ok, I just double-checked (sorry). Doubles record is Earl Webb's 67, set in 1930, not likely reachable for Papi. But the Red Sox record is Nomar's 56. Ortiz has 34 now. His personal best is 52. Could get that and Nomar's. Also, most doubles by a 40 year old? Sam Rice's 35. Papi is one away from that! Amazing....
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Earl Webb set the record in 1931 while playing for the Sox.This is gonna make him breaking the all-time single season doubles record all the more amazing!
Ok, I just double-checked (sorry). Doubles record is Earl Webb's 67, set in 1930, not likely reachable for Papi. But the Red Sox record is Nomar's 56. Ortiz has 34 now. His personal best is 52. Could get that and Nomar's. Also, most doubles by a 40 year old? Sam Rice's 35. Papi is one away from that! Amazing....
Also, Papi most definitely has a shot at breaking that record. Not a great one, but a shot.
Also, look at the doubles leaderboard. It's dominated by seasons in the 20s and 30s and I find that intriguing.
