Thank You, David Ortiz

Manuel Aristides

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 7, 2009
224
I've never started a thread here but if Alan Embree gets one of these, I think Ortiz deserves his own space outside of the season-long goodbye thread. Delete it if you must, I wanted to start it.

Thank you, David Ortiz, for giving a depressed 17 year old a reason to be jubilant twelve years ago when I really needed one.

Thank you for 04, and 07, 13, 16, and 51. And for 04 again.

Thank you for giving me stories I can bore my grandchildren with in fifty years.

Thank you for being hope, personified.

Gracias, Papi.
 
Nov 24, 2015
21
He is the last of the amazing team from 2004. My goodness, I cannot believe that this run is over. Thank you Big Papi for the near 500 homers as a Red Sox. Thank you for 2004, 2007 and 2013. Those were some of my favorite moments. I ran my first marathon in 2013 in Chicago and got really sick after the race. I had a massive fever, went to sleep to try and recover and then woke up literally as Ortiz hit the homer against the tigers that turned that series around. It made me feel 100x better and I celebrated that thru the rest of the month and then danced in the middle of Mass Ave after they won! Papi you will never pay for a drink in this city ever!!
 

Soxfan in Fla

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 30, 2001
7,187
Of course Papi will pay for another drunk in Boston. Reason being he will buy anyone and everyone a drink because that's who he is. The end of an era. He will be missed.
 
Nov 24, 2015
21
Of course Papi will pay for another drunk in Boston. Reason being he will buy anyone and everyone a drink because that's who he is. The end of an era. He will be missed.
You are correct. He is that type of person that would buy rounds for everyone in the bar. Hanley's Players Tribune article definitely showed that. It is the end of an era. Stats be damned, he is the greatest Red Sox player of the last four decades. He was the face of the franchise.
 

The Filthy One

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 11, 2005
3,451
Los Angeles
I posted on Twitter just after the game that the reason I can watch October baseball and not go completely insane anymore is because of David Ortiz. Think about Cubs fans (or even Indians fans, for that matter)...We don't have to be like that anymore, and it's in large part due to Papi.

Simply put, he made me believe good things would happen. For that, and everything else, thank you, Papi.
 

joyofsox

empty, bleak
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jul 14, 2005
7,552
Vancouver Island
This has been the greatest time to be a Red Sox fan - and he is a huge reason why.

Sure, it's only a game, but the Red Sox mean so much to all of us. And he changed our lives. I will be forever grateful.

"I want people to remember me as the guy who made the impossible possible." – David Ortiz, April 29, 2016
 

Papo The Snow Tiger

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 18, 2010
1,409
Connecticut
In the darkest hours of 2004 I remember Papi saying how he saw people walking around Boston being sad, and how the Red Sox had a chance to turn those frowns into smiles. I'll always remember all the walk off hits, homers and heroics, but the way I want to remember David Ortiz is on the mound after the game tonight, tipping his hat to the fans with tears in his eyes. The feeling really was mutual.

Thank you Papi.
 

Twalk

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
265
Bozeman, Montana
The 2004 Red Sox were the last team my grandfather and I watched together. He passed shortly before 2005 Spring Training. My grandfather called me from the nursing home he was in when the Sox swept the Cards. Him on the east coast and me 3,000 miles away and homesick. He was sobbing and yelling like a little kid that "they finally did it". That is what David Ortiz brought to Boston. That is what David Ortiz gave to me. Boston is your fucking city Big Papi!!! What a ride.....
 

curly2

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 8, 2003
4,887
Due to geography and work, I've seen only three Red Sox postseason games. In 1998, I saw them lose Game 3 of the ALDS to the Indians. They were eliminated the next day.

In 2004, I saw maybe the most thrilling sports event I've ever attended in person.


In 2013, I attended the opener of the World Series. After being robbed of a grand slam earlier in the game, Papi responded later with this:


For those moments, dozens more I saw on TV or heard on the radio, the three rings, the charity work, and all those smiles and hugs he gave teammates and opponents, THANK YOU, SIR!
 

Jim Lonborg

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 26, 2002
859
St. Helena, CA
Thanks Papi for taking the 2004 team on your back and carrying them to the promised land. And then having a Hall of Fame career as an encore. Truly a joy to watch this man and the joy he brought to the game. See you in Cooperstown in July 2022.
 

Kliq

Member
SoSH Member
Mar 31, 2013
22,671
I'm way to young to remember anyone else starring for the Red Sox other than Ortiz; 2017 will be the first season I really remember where he is not playing for the Sox. I was fortunate enough to attend one of his walk-off home runs, a shot in 2013 against Texas when Texas made the inexplicable decision to walk Pedroia in a tie game in the bottom of the ninth to get to Ortiz and I'll never forget the electricity in the ballpark when he stepped up to the plate.

More than anything I'll remember his presence at the plate. Something about his size and batting stance--he just looked like a RBI standing in the batters box. When he was locked in he just owned the strike zone, capable of lining outside pitches to the opposite field and cracking inside pitches around the Pesky Poll, all while under the care of some the best batting eyes in recent memory.

This video is long but if you can make it through Joe Buck's monotone it is worth the watch. Definitely getting a little dusty in Kliq Manor.

 

SumnerH

Malt Liquor Picker
Dope
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
31,892
Alexandria, VA
His 2004 postseason was thunderous. Walkoffs and late inning tying/go ahead heroics.

His smile was infectious.

His speeches were inspiring - our fucking city, indeed.

Updike's essay on Ted is rightly remembered for the observation that "Gods do not answer letters" . But that's not the closing line of the paean.

Ortiz answered letters: he tipped his hat, and showed love to the fans and press; he was gregarious and wore his heart on his sleeve. In that way he differed from Ted. But Updike's final observation applies to both of them:

"He knew how to do even that, the hardest thing. Quit."
 

Flynn4ever

Member
SoSH Member
I was thinking of starting a different thread, but perhaps as someone who doesn't post so often this should be best left to dopes and well-known posters. The title of the thread would be "The Last of the One of the Twenty-five." For those newer to these parts, after members of the 2004 post-season team left the Sox, we would dedicate a thread to them. Papi will be the last one of those 25. I'd so love to see him go out with a 4th ring.
Quoting myself, but as a fan for many years (since the '75 series to be exact, something about those lovable losers made me gush about a fairly close non NYC team) Papi was the greatest Sox of my lifetime. I started out loving Yaz, then Rice, Lynn and Pudge. On to Clemens, Nomar, Dewey and the last of the great mid-80's losers. Manny, Papi and Pedro brought this team into the promised land and for the last team to integrate racially, to see this happen and for Ortiz to be the thread all the way through, I am proud to be a Sox fan.
 

scotian1

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
16,324
Kingston, Nova Scotia
The last of the 25. David was someone whose at bat you didn't want to miss. Thank you David for all the clutch hits, for rallying the people of Boston in a time of need, for your part in three World Championships, and for your appreciation of the fans. You were a player willing to tip your hat to the people. Thank you for your charity work which has made such a difference to hundreds of children both in the Dominican and in New England. I doubt if we will see your like again in my lifetime.
 

Savin Hillbilly

loves the secret sauce
SoSH Member
Jul 10, 2007
18,783
The wrong side of the bridge....
Thank you for being magnificent, epic, larger than life, and for carrying yourself as a Boston sports icon with a minimum of drama and a maximum of grace, generosity and joie de vivre.

Thank you for making me believe, like a child, that you would always get the clutch hit--and for doing it enough times to make that belief almost rational.

Thank you for the gift of this last magical go-round, and for driving in a run and walking in your last two times up to put a ribbon and a bow on the gift.

Most of all, thank you for being the single biggest reason why the last 14 years have been the most joyful time for Red Sox fans in the franchise's long and wonderful history.
 

BrunanskysSlide

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 29, 2003
1,137
There was a great car commercial a couple years ago. I think it was for the Toyota Camry. It showed the car faithfully by the owner's side as he grew, went to school, got married, and had a family of his own. The commercial concluded with the owner passing the car down to his now grown child. That commercial immediately came to mind last night as I tearfully watched Big Papi tip his cap to the crowd.

We all have our memories of the last 13 years and of 2004 and 2013 in particular and it is hard to write a post about his retirement without internalizing it and making it more about yourself. Every year something big happened in my life it's tagged along with a Papi memory. "...that was also the year he broke the single season Sox HR record...", "...this is where I was in October 2004..." I remember sitting and studying for tests and typing: "PAPI!!!!!!!" on the old EzBoard game threads so many times. I still remember watching the Ortiz highlights in the 2004 "Dream On" video montage a SoSHer put together. David Ortiz has been the car from that commercial. Always there as I went from a college sophomore to having my own family. Always dependable. So much so I often forgot how lucky we were to have him around.

Because I'm in a sappy mood over this, I'll share my most cogent memory of Ortiz. My younger brother passed away in mid-August 2004 after a memorable OCab wall-ball walk off double game. I was crushed. But, I do remember the next Sox game I had the ability to watch Ortiz hit a go ahead solo shot in the 8th. I remember being excited and for a fleeting moment being able to forget what was going on around me. Then, in October he gave me something to smile about for the first time.

It will take some time come April to get used to not having him around, but man, were we lucky to have had him here. Cheers to a amazing career. We'll miss you Papi.
 

AbbyNoho

broke her neck in costa rica
SoSH Member
Jan 20, 2006
12,177
Northampton, Massachusetts
I've been ignoring it all season, but it's here and I have to face it. I assume the tightening in my chest and ball in the pit of my stomach will fade eventually, but for now it is there and I can think of nothing else but the times and memories David has given me. I would say that he has no idea how much he has meant to me, a person he has never meant, or how much happiness he has brought to my life... but he knows. That's why he is Big Papi. He gets it.

Retired, but not expired. I'm sure we'll see you around the ballpark soon, David. Thank you, always.
 

TheoShmeo

Skrub's sympathy case
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
12,890
Boston, NY
I'll leave the Yaz, Ted and Papi pronouncements to others beyond saying that I think that the comparisons are very difficult; apples and Papis.

There are so many Papi memories to choose from. But I will mention three. One, the homer in the top of the 8th in game 7 of the 2003 ALCS. It answered Giambi's blast off Pedro in the bottom of the 7th, and gave me confidence that it really was our year. And it should have been. David did his part. Two, the blast to win game 4 in 2004. That remains the single biggest jolt of sports euphoria that I have ever felt. Sure, winning the whole thing meant more on an overall level, but I have never experienced that amount of sports joy in a single moment before, and I doubt that I ever will again. It was the culmination of so many things, and I am eternally grateful to Ortiz for delivering it. And three, the homer on the very next pitch after Damon was called out at home to start game 7 of that series. Like I assume most Sox fans, evil thoughts about that play at the plate being ominous were swirling in my head and David immediately excised them. Damon's out, big shit, the Sox are up 2-0.

Those three plays are the ones that most capture David Ortiz for me. Happily, there are many others to choose from.

Last, I feel extremely lucky to have been a Red Sox fan during the Papi Era. Others, like my stepfather of blessed memory, missed him. Those of us who experienced him got to see a rare combination of talent and love of the game, and I doubt we will see anyone like him again in a Sox uniform.
 

KiltedFool

has a terminal case of creeping sharia
SoSH Member
Dec 22, 2005
2,400
The .com has an article titled What's Eating Cleveland Indians Fans?

The fact that you can write an article like that today is a tribute to David Ortiz. I'm an opposing fan, I've been here formally since '05, but have watched SoSH and Sox fandom going back well before that, 1999 comes strongly to mind. The "don't get too excited they'll find a way to f*** it up" mindset that was so prevalent for years and years through Red Sox Nation is gone. Long gone. Chants of 1918, Buckner, Bucky effing Dent, they're all gone, after decades of disappointment. David Ortiz is one of the very biggest reasons that Red Sox fans don't have that beaten down fatalism anymore, to the point they hardly recognize the symptoms in another fanbase.

So Red Sox Nation can thank Ortiz for being freed of that morose hangdog mindset that they were saddled with for decades.
 

Hildy

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Lifetime Member
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Jul 15, 2005
3,326
Frog Hall
To paraphrase A.A. Milne: "How lucky we are to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard."
Three titles. 20 walk offs. This is our f**king city. So grateful to have been here for the ride.
It's going to take a while to get used to a lineup with no Ortiz in it.
 

PaulinMyrBch

Don't touch his dog food
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 10, 2003
8,316
MYRTLE BEACH!!!!
Not much to say that hasn't been said. But I'll add this.

For some reason, my favorite swings are those 2004 walkoff homeruns where he didn't release the top hand and finished with both hands on the bat. Something about those two swings just screams out, I've got to do some extra bad ass shit right here. Obviously for his career including the 2004 playoffs, most swings are one hand finish, so those two swings just stand out for me. The oppo walkoff in the ALDS and the one against the Yankees in the ALCS. Short stroke, stayed inside and crushed them both.

Odd feeling this morning. Only thing that felt similar was the Nomar trade.
 

brandonchristensen

Loves Aaron Judge
SoSH Member
Feb 4, 2012
38,144
Here's the video the Sox did to honor him, narrated by Kevin Spacey.


The thud of an ending to his career reminds me of Chipper Jones a little bit. Guy who transformed a franchise, we didn't have the opportunity to raise him on our farm, but he was up at the end of the playoffs and couldn't come through. Papi, unfortunately, wasn't really given the chance. It almost feels like the team let him down a bit...

I'm not sad about the Sox 2016 season coming to an end, I'm happy that they climbed out of irrelevance after two horrible years and their future looks mighty bright. I'm sad for Ortiz, who never got the proper send off. Thanks to the fans who waited for him to return to the mound after the game last night, that was a special moment.

I've posted this before, but I'll post it again...



Miss you Papi, almost half of my 31 years on this planet was spent watching you win games for the Sox. I'll never forget that.
 
Last edited:

BigEazy

Member
SoSH Member
Oct 5, 2013
599
I started watching baseball (and following/supporting the Red Sox) in 2003. Being from the UK I didn't get to see a whole lot of baseball in those early days but I was drawn to the Red Sox and Papi was a big part of that. For the whole of my baseball following life there's been Papi and over the last however many years MLB.tv has been about I have watched the Red Sox games and watched nearly every game in every season since then (archived to watch the next day, avoiding 'spoilers' along the way!). Papi was a part of all that. It's a huge gap that he's gone but it was incredible he was ever here.

Thank you David for the titles. Thank you for making me fall in love with baseball and the Red Sox.
 

Norm Siebern

Member
SoSH Member
May 12, 2003
7,123
Western MD
I want to take a different view of the importance of David Ortiz. What has already been posted, particularly by Kilted nFool describes how Big Papi saved us from eternal doom on the playing field. He is truly the saviour of the fan base in that great regard.

But I see him as the savior of the city.

A little background is necessary to explain: I don't know the average age of posters on SoSH, but I would guess it follows the demographic trend and put it around 35. That means that most SoSHers were not even born when Pixie Palodino and Louise Day Hicks acted as frontmen for a very ugly racist chapter in Boston history; when Judge Arthur Garrity and busing and cop cars turned over at the top of G Street in Southie and white citizens shouting vile racial epithets at 15 year old black kids walking into school buildings ruled the front pages and airwaves. Most SoSHers were not born when South Boston High became the fulcrum of racist hatred in the city. When I attended HS in the mid to late 1970s I watched "fans" throw animal crackers and make gorilla sounds at Patrick Ewing as he took the court for Cambridge Rindge and Latin. Perhaps more SoShers were alive and aware as Charles Sullivan blamed his own sins on nondescript shadowy "Black Men," and once again the city had to confront the ugliness of racism. Probably most SoShers are aware that for a time in the mid '80s early '90s free agents of color like Kirby Puckett avoided the Red Sox due to the racist past of the club and the racist actions and reputation of the city. I taught at South Boston High at the tail end of the ugliness in the mid '80s. Things were still raw and wounded and ugly and threatening and wrong. The idea that Boston would transform itself on the broad shoulders of a smiling black Dominican would have been unfathomable at the time. But that is what happened, and David Ortiz is why.

For all the success of the Patriots, the Red Sox have been, and will be, the heart and soul of the sporting life of Boston, and in many ways, the cultural life. And the Heart and Soul of the Red Sox became David Ortiz. And David Ortiz became the symbol of the city. It wasn't just Papi alone (but he had the greatest impact). Like some John the Baptist, Luis Tiant came first and hinted at how an athlete could transform. But he was too soon. Then came Pedro Martinez. On days when Pedro pitched the joie de vivre of the Dominican swept over Fenway. He was the next voice in the wilderness, the harbinger of change.

And then that change came. The Big Man joined the band. David Ortiz arrived with his outsized personality and thunderous bat and clutch hits. And the Red Sox won or the first time in 86 years. And then won again. And then won again. And he helped transform the city in ways that were unimaginable to people of my generation; so much so that in 2013, at the end of the week that rocked the city, it was David Ortiz who claimed "this is OUR city." It was not Pixie Palodino's racist city. No longer Louise Day Hicks' racist city. But OUR city. The city of Dominicans and whites and blacks and Asians and every other fucking color of the rainbow. OUR city. And people cheered like never before. Now kids from Dot Heights and Southie and Roxbury and the West End and Allston wear Red Sox jerseys with the big red 34 emblazoned on the back. Now, when people think of Boston they think of this oversized personality, this giant of a man with the giant smile and the giant heart. And he is black. For people of my generation, the idea that a black man is the positive symbol of Boston is joyous and remarkable.

For all his athletic talent, it was how he transformed the very society of the city that I love that I will always remember him for. And that is why I am so endlessly greatful for David Ortiz. God bless you. And thank you.
 

Doug Beerabelli

Killer Threads
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
In 2003 and 2004, I was at a point in my fandom that I would not, could not watch the Sox for long stretches in the playoffs on TV. I was the jinx. I paced my sidewalk in the front yard in 2003 after Pedro as left in and I saw game 7 get tied. I nervously did the dishes during ALCS games 4-7 in 2004, stealing a glance on TV here and there when I thought it was safe. I did catch the last inning of game 5, and watched Game 7 after my wife told me of Damon's GS.

I decided to take a chance and watch the 2004 WS. When things got tight in game 1, I again bailed on the TV, but they won. The flows of games 2-4 emboldened me. And I woke my three year old daughter to watch the last out of game 4, my now 11 year old son there in Utero as the family looked on.

I'm on vacation in FL, and last night I watched the game, as I do any playoff game these days, without the old angst, although with a disappointment that is somewhat similar in taste to the old days.

But I watch. I'll watch em all. And that's because of Papi. And 04, and 07, and 13. And all the great stuff he did in the years between those years. I watch.

Thanks, Papi.

 

jcaz

Member
SoSH Member
Jun 8, 2009
383
My sox experience started in the late '70s. I would emulate players in my back yard wiffle ball field. I don't have vivid memories of the '78 Bucky Dent event, but I remember very clearly the pain I felt in '86. Fast forward to 2003. By then the Sox had sent my grandfather to his grave without a world series win. I was sure that the nightmare would end to the point of being cocky, like I was in '86. Thanks, Grady.

In 2004, I gave up on the Sox after game 3 of the ALCS. I was working in the basement during game four, only occasionally asking my wife for the score. I didn't watch game 5; I grew somewhat more courageous for game 6, then watched game 7 in its entirety. When I'm feeling blue, I still watch the Ortiz highlights from those games. That was special.

In 2010, Mrs. JCaz and I ended up staying in the Sox hotel in Detroit. The whole team was in the Starbucks in the hotel on Sunday morning - Ellsbury, Youk, Papelbon, JD Drew, Mike Lowell. I met the large father in the lobby. We took a picture. He was super cool. (As an aside, I also met Remy that day, and he was not friendly).

In 2013, it became abundantly clear how important Ortiz had become to the city of Boston to the point that the FCC was endorsing / condoning dropping F bombs.

I was in Europe for the ALCS. I woke up in the middle of the night, checked the score and found the Sox down 5-1. I went to the bathroom, came back and found the score tied at 5. When I saw the highlights of Papi's shot, I just couldn't believe. I was struggling not to wake up most of the Rhine Valley.

It's been an incredible run and I'm thrilled to have had the opportunity to watch. Thanks, David.
 

54thMA

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 15, 2012
10,154
Westwood MA
No, the answer is Yaz. Williams and Ortiz put up better numbers, but Yaz saved the franchise from utter irrelevancy. There would be no Sons of Sam Horn if it weren't for Yaz.
Not to hijack the thread, but yes, the answer is indeed Yaz.

Before Yaz and 1967, the Red Sox were sad sack losers for 21 years; they didn't win the WS in 67, but thanks to Yaz, the entire region started a love affair with the team that has lasted till this very day, something Felger will never understand as he's not from around here when he rants and raves about how the Red Sox lost the 67 Impossible Dream World Series.

Yaz carried that team.

When he retired and ran that last lap around Fenway, it was crushing and sad as try as he might, he could not get the region what it so desperately wanted; a World Series win.

Yaz made the region fall in love with the Red Sox, Ortiz consummated the relationship by delivering what Yaz could not; not one, not two, but three World Series titles.

As I watched Ortiz salute the fans one last time from the mound last night, I did not feel sadness, I felt joy and happiness for him, for the fans, for the entire region, he delivered time and time again when it mattered most.

Thanks to all of you for sharing in this thread you thoughts on Ortiz; as a fan since 1966 who's seen more than his share of sadness, last night was not a sad occasion, it was one last chance to say goodbye to a legend, a ballplayer of his ilk we'll never see again and no one going forward will ever be able to top what he did; break an 86 year old curse and bring so much joy and happiness to 6 states and millions of fans.

Enjoy your retirement David and thanks for everything.
 

FinanceAdvice

New Member
Apr 1, 2008
167
Albany, NY
I've been a faithful fan since 1975, the second greatest world series ever! The first of course is 2004. I thank God I had the opportunity to not only see Big Papi in person at Fenway but also on TV.

Farrell and Dombrowski got it right. David Ortiz is IRREPLACEABLE. There will never be another David Ortiz. He was the heart and soul of the Red Sox for 14 fabulous years.

It didn't end the way I wanted it but what a way to leave at Age 40. GOD SPEED DAVID. You will be missed but never forgotten!
 

TrapperAB

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 25, 2002
3,030
West Hartford, CT
My father was a diehard life-long Sox fan from the age of 8 in 1930.

He endured decades of heartbreak. He worshipped Foxx. He loved Williams. He liked Yaz.

I was raised in the Red Sox religion from infancy.

'86 was agony. I was all about Boggs and Clemens. More than once I thought I, too, would always live in a world where the Sox never won it all.

My dad passed in 2001, so we never had a chance to a savory a series victory together. (I poured my heart and soul into my "Win it For" post about him. Wish I could find it now.)

And now, I have a son who is growing up in a world where the Sox have won the series not once, not twice, but three times this millennium.

Big Papi is not the only reason why, of course, but sometimes it feels that way. When the ball cleared the wall in 2004, everything changed. He had destroyed the Death Star; after that, the Empire never stood a chance.

I care more about how Ortiz changed my world, our world, than I probably should. I have tears on the edge of my eyes as I write this. But it means what it means and I'm grateful.

Papi brought posthumous peace to my father and a profound calm to the turbulent Red Sox seas I have traveled with my dad from dawn till dusk.

The sun for my son now rises and sets with flags that fly forever.

Thank you, Big Papi.

And my dad, wherever he may be, thanks you, too.

Man, he would have loved you.
 

ookami7m

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
5,657
Mobile, AL
Can't add much beyond what has already been said here.
Papi is why my 9 year old knows how baseball works.
Papi is why I can watch late season and playoff baseball without fear.
Papi is what the Red Sox needed when they needed a savior and what Boston needed when the city needed him too.

2004 brought me to tears of joy
2007 brought me cheering silliness
2013 brought satisfaction and a realization that we are living in a true embarrassment of riches.

Thank you David Ortiz for what you've done on and off the field.
 

mwonow

Member
SoSH Member
Sep 4, 2005
7,095
It seems stupid to even type this, but...I'm in my mid 50s, moved out of Massachusetts 30 years ago, and apart from the odd visit and regular phone calls to my mom, this board has been my only real connection to Boston for years.

And yet, David Ortiz - who I've never met - would be in the top handful of people who have had an impact on my life.

He's been a hero, on the field, and in his approach to life and people in Boston and everywhere beyond.

Like many folks here, I've got "win it for" memories that revolve around unforgettable moments (mine was a night spent with my dad before critical surgery, watching Game 7 in a haze of euphoria as the MFYs' mystique and aura were finally slain), but this isn't about me, or my dad, who made it through surgery and got to see three parades before passing last year. This is about PAPI!!! (sorry for the caps and exclamation points, that's muscle memory from many, many gamethreads). You can argue Williams (my dad would) or Yaz as the most important Sox player ever, but that isn't the point. Papi is a hero who wore the Sox laundry, and did deeds that seemed impossible then, and still make the room dusty on YouTube video today; heck, in yet another of those video moments, he even claimed Boston for its people (wherever they are physically living today) in the aftermath of a terror attack. Thank you, Large Father.
 

jasvlm

New Member
Nov 28, 2014
177
I've been a Red Sox fan since 1986. I was in Kenmore Square during Game 6 of the World Series that year, and I've never seen quiet descend on an area as I did that night. Reading about the pain of generations of Sox fans the next few days helped to cement my fandom. I was hooked.
My wife was in India during the 2004 madness, and I was home alone caring for my 2 children, ages 5 and 7. When the Sox went down 3-0, we were all despondent. All I asked for was one more game, and David Ortiz provided those games with heroic feats in Games 4 and 5, and ultimately the lead the Sox would never lose in pivotal Game 7. My daughter fell in love with Papi that fall, and another Sox fan joined the ranks. She's been very loyal ever since, and posted pictures of Papi on her Facebook page as he retired, citing him as a sports hero. HIs exploits as a Red Sox fan have bonded our family through summer nights and fall days. We live in MN, and Ortiz has a special following among Twins fans here, but our family roots for the Red Sox, and David Ortiz is a large reason why. I don't know that I can put a value on a single player's contributions to a fan's experience, but I know that Papi brought our family together during stressful times and joyous times, and helped provide common ground to rally around. To me, that's priceless, and I'll always have a spot in my heart for the man.
In April of 2004, I journeyed back to Boston (I am a Boston University grad, and have friends in the city) to support a friend from MN who qualified for the Boston Marathon. During my stay, I caught a game at Fenway on the Saturday before the race, with the Sox beating the Yankees on a beautiful day. On my way out, I purchased my first ever authentic home Red Sox jersey. I told my friend Deirdre that I would only put a number on the back once the Red Sox won the World Series-the number of the biggest hero of the title. I had visions of handing that jersey down to my children once I got too old, so that they could achieve the feat if the Sox hadn't won it all before my demise. Still, seeing that jersey in the closet that summer gave me hope, and a scant 6 months later, the title was achieved. I actually debated about whose number should be on that jersey-29 and 45 got strong consideration-but settled on Ortiz. That jersey now has patches from every World Series win the Sox have accomplished in my lifetime, as well as the 5 they had won before I was born, and it hangs in the den for easy daily viewing. Seeing that jersey, and the memories that it holds, is a source of unfettered joy and reverie, rare commodities in our short lives.
For the memories, for the great moments, for the championships, for the bond you helped forge among my family, for your charitable work, for the stance you took for the city in 2013, for every accelerated heartbeat you inspired as you stood at the plate, waiting to bring joy to millions watching and hoping:
THANK YOU.
 

PTC

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Nov 10, 2006
28
My daughter is 16 and doesn't know a world where the Red Sox are a bunch of losers. She can barely imagine what that world might look like...

Thank you very much for that.
 

djhb20

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I'll say this about David Ortiz:

Before he came to the Red Sox, a sweep out of the playoffs would've meant heartbreak. Another blown chance to win a World Series. Chances that don't come often and never come through.

When the Sox lost last week, my reaction was totally different. It's ok, there's other years. The team's good; they'll have other chances. We've won three World Series recently anyway. Can't always win.

The disappointment really rested solely in the fact that I'll never get to see David Ortiz play baseball again.
 

scotian1

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Jul 19, 2005
16,324
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I'll say this about David Ortiz:

Before he came to the Red Sox, a sweep out of the playoffs would've meant heartbreak. Another blown chance to win a World Series. Chances that don't come often and never come through.

When the Sox lost last week, my reaction was totally different. It's ok, there's other years. The team's good; they'll have other chances. We've won three World Series recently anyway. Can't always win.

The disappointment really rested solely in the fact that I'll never get to see David Ortiz play baseball again.
We have the memories and three World Series DVDs to remind us thankfully.
 

VBSoxFan

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Aug 8, 2005
354
Virginia Beach, VA
This thread seems like the best place for this “thank you”, but this is from a reporter, Amy Donaldson, of the Deseret News. She relates a story from the early 2000s when she was a new sports reporter and David Ortiz spoke up for her in a locker room during an interview when she was feeling harassed.
 

mwonow

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Sep 4, 2005
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This thread seems like the best place for this “thank you”, but this is from a reporter, Amy Donaldson, of the Deseret News. She relates a story from the early 2000s when she was a new sports reporter and David Ortiz spoke up for her in a locker room during an interview when she was feeling harassed.
Yet another case of Papi as hero. Man, do I ever miss him already, and the next game is still months away!
 

PedroKsBambino

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Apr 17, 2003
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Before you there were chants of '1918'

After you, we are the City of Champions.

On a board full of stat geeks, you reminded us that 'clutch' is real and that passion can matter.

Thank you for all that you did on the field, and all that you have been for Boston.
 

RIFan

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Jul 19, 2005
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I will always appreciate never having to say "wait until next year" and the overriding sense of doom I dealt with over my 30+ years of fandom prior to 2004. I also appreciate that my son was born at a time where he could be part of all this.

No, the answer is Yaz. Williams and Ortiz put up better numbers, but Yaz saved the franchise from utter irrelevancy. There would be no Sons of Sam Horn if it weren't for Yaz.
To further highjack. If Yaz and 1967 does not happen, the likelihood of Fenway being razed and the Sox playing in a Three Rivers type stadium in Foxboro with the Patriots is probably at about 75%. It may seem unfathomable to many, but the franchise and the fanbase that exists today owes a tremendous level of gratitude to the Impossible Dream season.
 

Al Zarilla

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Dec 8, 2005
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To further highjack. If Yaz and 1967 does not happen, the likelihood of Fenway being razed and the Sox playing in a Three Rivers type stadium in Foxboro with the Patriots is probably at about 75%. It may seem unfathomable to many, but the franchise and the fanbase that exists today owes a tremendous level of gratitude to the Impossible Dream season.
For real? The Patriots were probably the fourth most beloved Boston area team until the BB/TB years, but the Red Sox were always #1, except maybe when the Bruins or the Celtics (many times) were winning a title and the Sox stunk at the same time. Still, Sox in Foxborough? I don't know. OTOH, it would have come down to a business decision, I do know. Giants fans are still grateful their team isn't the Tampa Bay Giants.

Enjoy the retirement Papi, but come back when you get bored.