D A V I D O R T I Z C O M M E M O R A T I V E I S S U E

“The game is not overUNTIL THE LAST OUT.”

-David Ortiz, 1999

Timeline: How the “player to be named later” became a legend // Page 13

The fi nal season: Even at age 40, Ortiz never slowed // Page 10

Bill Ballou: No DH has been elected to Cooperstown; it’s time // Page 5

Bill Doyle: Boston media weigh in on Ortiz’ legacy // Page 6

Bill Reynolds: From humble beginnings, he became an icon // Page 3

Kevin McNamara: There was no shortage of special moments // Page 4

Designated hitter: Ortiz may be the last of his kind // Page 8

Place in the community: He made big impact off the fi eld // Page 7

2004 World Series: Papi produced at plate, and at fi rst // Page 16

2007 World Series: He helped a franchise shed its underdog label // Page 18

2013 World Series: One of the greatest performances in history // Page 20

Before the Red Sox: The Twins gave up, but Ortiz never did // Page 22

TABLE OF CONTENTS

David Ortiz celebrates a

three-run homer with Victor

Martinez in 2010. THE ASSOCIATED

PRESS

COVER: PHOTO ILLUSTRATION. PHOTO BY PROVIDENCE JOURNAL PHOTO/ BOB BREIDENBACH

LOCAL NEWS. IN YOUR FEED. AS IT HAPPENS.LIKE US ON FACEBOOK.

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By Bill Reynolds@breynolds401

The best thing about David Ortiz? 

The best thing about this large man with the even bigger heart?

The best thing about this man who grew up in the Domini-can Republic and became one of the most admired and well-liked people in the long history of New England sports?

The best thing about this man who is going to be remembered for as long as they play baseball in Fenway Park?

The very best thing?It has all come out of nowhere, like

some unexpected gift that shows up on your doorstep on Christmas morning.

Remember?Ortiz never was some phenom with

“can’t miss’’ stamped all over his forehead, never was someone whose destiny seemed to be the Hall of Fame and baseball immortality.

In the beginning, back before all the cheers and all the acclaim, back before his unbelievable career in

Boston with the Red Sox, this man who forever will be remembered for as long as they play baseball in Boston, he was just another kid from the Dominican Republic chasing the baseball dream.

He was signed by the Seattle Mari-ners. It was 1992 and he was known as David Arias then. He played for a Mariners farm team called the Wis-consin Timber Rattlers until 1996. He was traded to Minnesota and that was when he informed the Twins that he prefered to be known as David Ortiz. He was up and down with the Twins for the better part of six seasons, play-ing 455 major-league games and hitting 58 home runs and driving in 238 runs.

These are the hits, runs, and errors of his early years, and suffice to say there was really no reason to believe he would become what he became.

Ortiz seemed like just another big kid from the Dominican who seemed lucky to have been in the big leagues at all.

Then he came to Boston as a free agent, the place where he found his destiny, the place where he became “Big Papi.” 

It was 2003.

And all of sudden David Ortiz became one of he all-time great Red Sox stories.

That first year, after playing spar-ingly behind Jeremy Giambi for the first two months of the season, just another guy nobody seemed to know a whole lot about, Ortiz found his fate. He finished the year with 31 home runs and 101 RBI. And then the next year he found his slice of Red Sox immortality, helping to lead the Sox to their first World Series title in 86 years.

And ever since?He has become a New England

icon, one of the all-time great Red Sox players, complete with a person-ality as big as the Green Monster. In a city that’s had more than it share of sports icons, Ortiz has somehow managed to make his way up that list.

It’s an impressive list.Maybe no one owned the moment in

those sad days after the Boston Mara-thon bombing in 2013 more than David Ortiz, that sun-splashed afternoon in Fenway, the wounds of a city still open and incredibly raw, and said “This is our ... city.’’ Winston Churchill it was not. Powerful and galvanizing it was.

Then again, Ortiz always has instinctively known that being a Red Sox superstar is more than just what you do on the field.

A superstar he is.Big Papi.One of a kind.

When Boston was angry and sad and still in shock in the days after the Boston Mara-thon bombing, it was David Ortiz who took the micro-phone and proclaimed “This is our ... city!” in a defiant show of pride and strength.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES/MICHAEL DWYER

David Ortiz, on the field before the 2013 World Series, says helping others makes him feel good. THE PROVIDENCE JOURNAL /

KRIS CRAIG

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By Kevin McNamara@KevinMcNamara33

It’s like picking your favorite few songs by U2, Springsteen or Nirvana.

It’s selecting a top Italian eatery on Federal Hill in Providence, the nicest beach in South County or Cape Cod, or a preferred watering hole in Newport.

You can’t pick just one, right? Just like you can’t pick only one David Ortiz career highlight. Big Papi simply has too many to choose from.

When you’ve carved up American League pitching for 20 years, smacked 541 home runs and done so with a flair for the dramatic, there are moments that everyone who follows the Red Sox will never forget.

If Jerry West is the “Mr. Clutch’ of the NBA, David Ortiz should have the same nickname in baseball. Since the big man first came on the scene in Boston in 2003, he has personified clutch, not only coming up big in the late innings but also serving as the Red Sox resident Mr. October. Ortiz has cracked 17 playoff home runs, easily a franchise record, and also leads the Sox all-time in playoff extra-base hits (37) and RBI (56). In three World Series, he’s among the sport’s leaders in bat-ting average (.455), on-base percentage (.576) and slugging (.795).

Of all the Ortiz stats one can cite at

the end of his career, maybe the most important is this: He’s one of four players with at least three World Series titles and 500 homers to his name. Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle and Reggie Jack-son are the others.

“It’s mostly confidence,” Ortiz said back in 2006. “If you go up there think-ing you might not get it done, you’re out already. I know I’m going to hit you.”

We’ve decided to select a top five all-time Big Papi blasts, not necessarily home runs:.

5: On April 27, 2003 in Anaheim, Ortiz cracks a pinch-hit, go-ahead homer in the 14th inning of an eventual win. It is the newcomer’s first home run as a Red Sox and helps him win the job as the club’s full-time designated hitter.

4: Game Four, 2003 ALDS vs. A’s. Down, 4-3, in the eighth inning and facing elimination, Ortiz finally stroked his first hit of the series when he lined a two-run double to right field off Keith Foulke. The hit gave the Red Sox a 5-4 lead and eventual victory and the Sox went on to win the series in Game Five in Oakland, 4-3.

3: Game Three, 2004 ALDS vs. Angels. If Ortiz needed to define a true walk-off home run, this shot did the

trick. After smacking the Angels twice in Anaheim, the Sox returned home for Game Three and Ortiz sent everyone home happy with a homer over the Green Monster with two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning. End of game, end of series.

2: The 2004 ALCS vs. Yankees. We’ll rank three dramatic hits in this epic series together in a treasure trove of memories. Trailing, 3-0, and on the verge of embarrassment, Ortiz helps rescue the Sox in Game Four with a home run off Paul Quantrill in the 12th inning. Just 16 hours later, the teams squared off again. This time Papi cut down the Yankees twice. Trailing, 4-2, in the eighth inning, Ortiz got the ball rolling with a home run to lead off against Tom Gordon. The Sox went on to scratch out a run off Gordon and Mariano Rivera and force extra innings.

In the 14th inning things finally ended. This time Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez  walked and the Yanks chose to pitch to Ortiz. In a wild, tense at-bat against pitcher Esteban Loaiza, Ortiz stayed alive and lined the 10th pitch of the showdown into center field to knock in the winning run yet again. The game, which thankfully began at 5 p.m., took a then-record five hours and 49 minutes to complete.

After tying the series behind Curt

Schilling (bloody sock) in Game Six, Ortiz gets Game Seven off to a quick start with a two-run shot that nearly hit me in the nose in the auxiliary press seats in the right-field bleachers. The Sox never looked back and completed the comeback for the ages with a 10-3 win. Ortiz finished the seven-game passion play with a .387 average with three homers and 11 RBI.

1: Game Two, 2013 ALCS vs. Tigers. Down one game and trailing, 5-1, in the eighth inning, the Red Sox looked doomed. But Ortiz blasted the only postseason grand slam in his career, a moment in which I swear Fenway Park shook.

The Tigers were cruising with closer Joaquin Benoit on the mound but fell into trouble with two outs and the bases loaded. Ortiz then hit a long line drive to right that floated down from the dark October sky and over the bull-pen wall. As Torii Hunter fell into the pen, Boston policeman Steve Horgan celebrated with a touchdown sign as Ortiz circled the bases.

The Sox got a walk-off single by Jarrod Saltalamacchia in the ninth and went on to win a hard-fought series in six games. Ortiz’s blast made a trip to the World Series possible and helped the Sox to a 4-2 series win over St. Louis.

There was no shortage of special moments from Papi

David Ortiz celebrates as he rounds first base after hitting the game-winning home run in

the 12th inning against the New York Yankees, during Game Four of the 2004 ALCS at Fenway

Park. AP FILE/AMY SANCETTA

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By Bill Ballou@BillBallouTG

When American League owners inaugu-rated the novel

concept of a designated hitter in 1973, they did not expect the likes of David Ortiz. That was not because the baseball financiers had no foresight — they just had no idea how the position would evolve. 

With Ortiz’s career at its finish, nobody really knows how the roster spot will evolve from here, either. 

Take a look at Opening Day 1973. Here are the 12 DHs to debut at the position for their respective teams: 

Orlando Cepeda for the Red Sox, Ron Blomberg for the Yankees, Ollie Brown for the Brewers, Gates Brown for the Tigers, Terry Crowley for the Orioles, John Ellis for the Indians, Bill North for the Athletics, Tony Oliva for the Twins, Ed Kirkpatrick for the Royals, Tom McCraw for the Angels, Mike Andrews for the White Sox and Rico Carty for the Rangers. 

Only one of them, Cepeda, wound up in the Hall of Fame. Both Oliva and Carty were great hitters. Otherwise the list is the batting equivalent of a bullpen, middle relievers of the bat-ting order. Really — Ed Kirkpatrick and Ollie Brown? 

As brilliant a move as Boston’s signing of Ortiz turned out to be, he was an accident. The Sox had him in mind to play first base and some DH, and almost anything was an upgrade from Boston’s 2002 designated hitter, Carlos Baerga, but Ortiz had already been traded once by Seattle

and released once by the Twins and was only 27. 

That was hardly the standard des-ignated hitter resume of the day. 

The 2003 Red Sox and Ortiz also turned out to be the perfect marriage, although it took a while to get to the altar. 

That Boston team was one of the greatest offensive units in franchise history and the best, to date, of the 21st century. The 2003 Sox hit 238 home runs, a team record. They had 649 extra base hits, a team record. They scored 961 runs, best this cen-tury and hit .289, best this century. Ortiz was a big part of that, but he was also surrounded by other great hitters, so many so that the Sox had the luxury of using him as a desig-nated hitter. 

It is hard to say that he will be the last of his kind. It is hard to say that some player, or thing, is the last of its kind in baseball, period. The game went 34 years between perfect games at one time, and in that span it seemed likely they were extinct, and there were three in 2012 alone. 

Hardly anybody who grew up watching the game in the decades after World War II thought that Lou Gehrig’s ironman streak would be broken, then it was shattered, and some day, someone will probably hit five home runs in a game. 

However, with both Edgar Marti-nez and Ortiz both out of the picture, there is nobody on the horizon who seems likely to carry on the DH tradition. 

For one thing, job descriptions have changed. Designated hitters may go the way of third-string catch-ers. Baseball has become dominated by bullpens and most teams, from Opening Day through Sept. 1, have

rosters that are almost half pitch-ers. Sometimes, managers have 13 pitchers available, more than half the roster. 

That does not leave a lot of room for a player who does nothing but hit four times a game. 

The Ortizes and Martinezes are being supplanted by Ben Zobrists and Brock Holts. Look at the 2016 Red Sox and how many of them were multi-positional. Holt is a classic utility guy, but Hanley Ramirez has played three positions, Xander Bogaerts two, Mookie Betts three, Travis Shaw two, Aaron Hill three, and that doesn’t

include Blake Swihart, who looks destined to play at least two in the majors. 

Eventually, the National League will adopt the DH. Who knows when, but it will at some point. That will double the demand for designated hitters, and maybe the next Ortiz will be wearing a Dodgers, Braves or Cubs uniform for most of his career. 

Don’t bet on it. The Red Sox have most likely seen the greatest desig-nated hitter ever both come and go in a span of 14 unforgettable years.

TOP: Edgar Martinez, shown hitting a two-run homer against the White Sox in 2000, was one of the best designated hitters in baseball history. AP/STEPHEN CARRERA

BOTTOM: David Ortiz follows through on a two-run home run against the Tampa Bay Rays in a 2010 game at Fenway Park. AP /WINSLOW TOWNSON

AS A DH, ORTIZ MAY BE THE LAST OF

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By Bill Doyle@BillDoyle15

BOSTON — There’s no doubt that David Ortiz deserves to be in the con-versation about the best Red Sox players of all-time along with Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski.

But where exactly should he be ranked? First, second or third?

Jerry Remy, who played six seasons with Yaz and has analyzed Sox games on NESN since 1988, believes those would be the top three, but it would be unfair to rank them because they played in differ-ent eras and Ortiz didn’t play in the field.

“The thing you can’t take away from David Ortiz,” Remy said, “is the amount of championships, the clutch hitting, the clutch hitting in playoff situations, much more than the other two guys.”

Entering this fall, Ortiz had helped the Sox win three World Series champion-ships. Only Harry Hooper and Heinie Wagner won more. They captured their fourth in 1918. Williams and Yaz never won one.

“To me,” NESN play-by-play voice Dave O’Brien said of Ortiz, “he means as much to Red Sox fans, and I’m a lifelong one, as Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzem-ski. It’s a three-way tie for me. It’s hard for me to put anyone above those (other) guys, but in terms of clutch, no question David is No. 1. He’s hit more meaning-ful home runs, had more meaningful hits than any other Red Sox player in their history, that’s clear.”

Rob Bradford, who covers the Sox for WEEI.com and who has filled in on Red Sox radio and television, goes even fur-ther in his praise of Ortiz.

“He’s the most important player in the history of the Red Sox organiza-tion,” Bradford said. “Not the best hitter, not the best all-around player, but the most important player in the Red Sox organization.”

Bradford points to Ortiz’s World Series championships and believes the Sox wouldn’t have won in 2004 or 2013 without him.

Tom Caron, NESN’s Red Sox studio host and former Sox field reporter, is also a huge Ortiz supporter.

“Ted Williams is the greatest hitter and the greatest Red Sox player of all-time,” Caron said, “but David Ortiz might be the most impactful player, if that makes any sense. You look at his era and that really is the transformative era of the Boston Red Sox. It changed what this team is, what this ballpark is, what we as fans are, and I don’t think anybody else has had that kind of impact on this franchise.”

Caron said Ortiz told him that he felt pressure growing up in a poor section of the Dominican Republic, but not while he was at at-bat in clutch situations.

Joe Castiglione, Sox radio announcer since 1983, and O’Brien both picked Ortiz’s eight-inning, game-tying grand slam against the Tigers to help the Sox win Game Two of the 2013 ALCS as their greatest memory of him. Had the Sox lost, they would have gone to Detroit trailing the series, two games to none.

“It was the most extraordinary moment that I’ve seen as a baseball announcer in person,” said O’Brien, who screamed, “David Ortiz,” three times at the end of calling the play live on radio.

Caron picked his extra-inning

walk-off hits in Games Four and Five of the 2004 ALCS against the Yankees to help the Sox become the first Major League Base-ball team to win a playoff series after trailing three games to none

“Having lived through that,” Caron said, “doing post-games those two nights, even now looking back on it, it’s like a film. It doesn’t seem real. We were all here on fumes and how is he delivering on fumes?”

Remy’s greatest memory is something he admitted is “offbeat.” It’s the way Ortiz took batting practice.

“He starts off,” Remy said, “by hitting balls to left field, he goes up the middle and he pulls balls. That’s the way every professional major league baseball player should take batting practice. He’s never altered from that. Most of these home run hitters, all they try to do is hit home runs in batting practice. He didn’t do that. He tries to become a better hitter every single day.”

Caron believes Ortiz will be voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

“It won’t be first ballot I don’t think,” Caron said, “because people will hold the DH against him. There’s going to be the residue of the ‘03 (steroids) list that’s going to hang there, but I think the argu-ment against the DH as a Hall of Famer is ridiculous. You’re penalizing a guy

for playing a position that major leaguebaseball created.”

Caron was the Sox field reporter in2003, the year the Sox signed Ortiz onthe recommendation of Pedro Martinezafter the Twins waived him.

“How the greatest clutch hitter in RedSox history,” Caron said, “was unwantedin the offseason of ’02-’03 is prettyamazing.”

Early in the 2003 season, Ortiz didn’tplay much and asked the Sox to tradehim. The Sox are glad they didn’t granthis wish.

So what will the broadcasters missmost about Ortiz?

“There are so many things,” Casti-glione said. “I think I’ll miss his smileand his personality, the way he hugspeople, the warmth of Big Papi. I’llmiss seeing him in the batter’s boxbecause he’s such a smart hitter, one ofthe smartest hitters that I’ve ever beenaround and a truly great hitter, not justa slugger and I think that’s why he’s ableto excel in game on the line situations.I’ll miss him as much off the field as onthe field.” 

Reporters and photogra-phers surround David Ortiz at Fenway Park prior to the opening of the 2013 World Series against the Cardinals. THE PROVIDENCE

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VIEW FROM THE BOOTH

M E DI A W E IGH S I N ON

Ortiz’ legacy

David Ortiz laughs during a press conference before his final series at Yankee Stadium last month. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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COMMUNITY ICON

BIG IMPACT OFF THE FIELD

David Ortiz pumps his fist in front of an American flag and a line of Boston Marathon volunteers after addressing the crowd before the Red Sox’ game against the Royals on April 20, 2013. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

By Bill Doyle@BillDoyle15

David Ortiz will long be remem-bered for his many accomplishments on the field, including his clutch hitting to lead the Red Sox to three World Series championships enter-ing his final season, but Sox fans will also never forget how he helped rally the community following the tragic Boston Marathon bombings in 2013.

On April 20, 2013, prior to the first game at Fenway Park after two explo-sions near the marathon finish line killed three people and injured more than 250, the Sox honored the vic-tims, first responders and marathon volunteers on the field. With a huge American flag draped over the Green Monster behind him, Ortiz stood on the infield grass with the microphone in his left hand and addressed the crowd.

“All right. All right Boston,” Ortiz said. “This jersey that we wear today, it doesn’t say Red Sox. It says Boston. We want to thank you Mayor Menino, Governor Patrick, the whole police department for the great job they did this past week. This is our [expletive] city and nobody is going to dictate our freedom. Stay strong.”

Then Ortiz raised his right fist as the crowd roared in approval. It was the first step in the healing process for many.

“I really appreciated it that people look at it that way,” Ortiz said recently. “That was my purpose, to make sure that everybody united, that everybody stayed together, everybody show much love to each

other and show the opposition that we are better than they are.”

“When we think of rallying the city during that time,” said WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford, “what do we think of? It was that, right? More so than President Obama coming to speak to us. That’s a fact.”

“I think it was a big factor psycho-logically and emotionally,” Red Sox radio voice Joe Castiglione said. “We were depressed and down and it gave us a lot of fight and spirit. It surprised all of us, but I think it showed a lot of leadership. David, he’s a guy that you know exactly what he’s thinking at all times.”

“Who else gets away with that?” NESN’s Red Sox studio host Tom Caron asked. “Who else gets applauded for an F-bomb mike-job? That’s Big Papi.”

After the game, Ortiz apologized for cursing, telling the media that he hadn’t planned to, but that he thought “the town needs to be pumped.” His message worked. His words on live television resonated with many. Julius Genachowski, chairman of the Federal Communications Commis-sion which prohibits cursing on TV networks, went so far as to tweet his endorsement, “David Ortiz spoke from the heart at today’s Red Sox game. I stand with Big Papi and the people of Boston – Julius.”

The tweet was retweeted nearly six million times.

Ortiz was asked to re-enact the scene for the upcoming movie, “Patriots Day.”

“That’s a pretty good indica-tor,” NESN play-by-by voice Dave O’Brien said, “that it meant a great

deal and it did to me.”When President Obama attended a

Tampa Bay exhibition game in Cuba in March, he gave his thumbs up to Ortiz’s speech.

“One of my proudest moments as president,” he said, “was watching Boston respond after the marathon and when Ortiz went out and said, probably the only time that America didn’t have a problem with cursing on live TV, when he talked about how strong Boston was and was not going to be intimidated and that is the kind of resilience and the kind of strength that we have to continually show in the face of these terrorists.”

That fall, Ortiz was named most valuable player of the World Series as Boston won the championship at Fenway Park, its first World-Series-clinching win at home in 95 years.

Community service has long been important to Ortiz. In December, he will host his ninth annual celebrity golf tournament in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, and last July he hosted his fourth-annual gala at the Boston Park Plaza. Both events benefit the David Ortiz Children’s Fund, which has raised about $2 million and provided heart sur-gery to more than 500 children in New England, his native Dominican Republic and Haiti.

“When we take time to help others, it’s something that to me is price-less,” Ortiz said.

Ortiz won the 2011 Roberto Clemente Award for his community service contri-butions and value to his team.

“I love what I do with my founda-tion,” Ortiz said. “There’s a huge line of kids waiting to get their heart sur-gery. This heart surgery costs a lot of

money and the only way they can get it is through our foundation because they come from poor families and this operation costs a lot of money.”

Ortiz’s charitable efforts won’t stop.

“I know I’m retiring this year,” Ortiz said, “but I’m going to try to continue doing a lot of hard work to keep raising money to help these kids out.”

Ortiz has spent time with dozens of Make-A-Wish children, visited sick children at hospitals, and inspired teammates, fans, sponsors and owners to donate $200,000 to the Dominican Republic town of Jimani, which was devastated by floods in 2004.

Through Papi’s Pal Ticket Program, he purchases tickets several times each season for patients from Mass-General Hospital for Children.

“We were blessed with an era,” said Pam Kenn, Red Sox vice president of community, alumni and player rela-tions, “in which we have had many community-minded players and David is certainly among the most community minded we have had. His work is very effective as is evidenced by 563 children who have had heart surgeries thanks to the power of the David Ortiz Children’s Fund. His impact on so many others is immea-surable because of the way that he inspires people. He has been a source of light for Jimmy Fund kids, for marathon survivors, and for people with a variety of diseases. His impact is so broad, and his unifying power of our community is so strong.”

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By Bill Ballou@BillBallouTG

David Ortiz has made a career out of doing the unexpected, so this dis-claimer is probably worthless, but:

Five years from now, barring the unexpected, Ortiz will appear on the ballot for the Baseball Hall of Fame. Considering the huge footprint he leaves behind on both Red Sox history and the game in general, he should be a shoo-in for election.

It may not be that simple, though.I am a Hall of Fame voter and,

barring the unexpected, will still be casting a ballot when Ortiz is eligible. He will be on my ballot, and here’s why.

I have two major criteria in deter-mining who I vote for. One is obvious — consistent excellence over a long period of time. The other is not so apparent, and not shared by all voters. It is a presence, an impact, so great that a fan would buy a ticket for no other reason than to see a per-former in action.

This dates back to 1959 when my father took me to Fenway Park just so I could say I saw Ted Williams play baseball. Very few players are

that good, so I don’t vote for many players. Ortiz is, indeed, that good. No doubt, in the last couple of years and in 2016 particularly, many tickets were sold just for one last look, or first look, at Ortiz.

That sort of presence, plus all the home runs, RBI, doubles, should make Ortiz a lock for a spot in Coo-perstown, but it is not that easy these days. He has two items on his resumé that may make Hall voters, a notori-ously finicky lot, take a longer look than normal.

For one thing, Ortiz spent his career as a designated hitter, more so than any other player. No career DH has ever been elected to the Hall of Fame and that’s not so surpris-ing since there have really only been two career DHs — Ortiz and Edgar Martinez.

Paul Molitor and Frank Thomas both spent a lot of time as DHs, and Thomas is the only Hall of Famer who spent the majority of his career as a DH. He played about 1,310 games at DH, but 970 at a position.

Ortiz is about 2020 at DH, 280 at first base.

Sox hitting coach Chili Davis was 50-50. Former Sox DH Don Baylor

played more games at DH than any other position, but he still played almost 900 games in the field. Nei-ther Baylor nor Davis is in the Hall of Fame. Most players who did play a lot of DH and made Cooperstown were position players until they got older. Ortiz and Martinez were both full-time DHs in their primes.

Martinez has been on the Hall of Fame ballot for seven years and has never cracked 50 percent, let alone approach the 75 percent needed for election. Last year, though, the Mari-ners great got about 43 percent of the vote, his best showing yet.

He was a fine player and a danger-ous hitter, but Martinez never put up the numbers that Ortiz has, and never had the chances to perform on the national stage as Ortiz has, thanks to all the Red Sox postseason appear-ances during his career.

He had something to do with that, of course.

While there is no direct connection between Most Valuable Player voting and the Hall of Fame, most writers who vote for MVP wind up voting for Cooperstown. Ortiz has never won a Most Valuable Player Award, but has come close and should be close again

this season. From 2004 through ’07, he finished among the top-four con-tenders each season and was second to Alex Rodriguez in 2005 in a close race.

The other issue Ortiz will face when he is on the Hall of Fame ballot is his connection with steroid usage. The fact that his possible positive in a voluntary test dating to 2003 would not be allowed as evidence in court is irrelevant to some voters, as is the fact that he has never tested positive since.

The anti-steroids people are stri-dently unreasonable on this topic, ready to inflict the death penalty even without corroboration. Their minds will never change, but Ortiz will not be on the ballot until 2021 and can stay on it until 2031. A lot of today’s voters will be gone by then and per-ceptions may change, for better or worse.

As of now, though, here in 2016, this voter plans to put an X next to David Ortiz when the 2021 ballot arrives in the mail.

Barring the unexpected.

He’s a Hall-of-Famer in my bookNo DH has been elected to Cooperstown; it’s time

David Ortiz put up fantastic numbers and was a player the fans had to see, two of the criteria for the Hall of Fame. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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David Ortiz waves to the crowd during his last regular-season game at Fenway Park on Oct. 2.

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FAREWELL TOUR

EVEN AT ORTIZ NEVER SLOWED

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BOSTON — The proverbial high-light reel of David Ortiz has always represented a tug-of-war between what he does with his bat and what

he does with his smile. What that smile masked for much of his final season was what it took for him to swing his bat.

“I’ve played in a lot of pain,” he said recently.

Ortiz walked away just before he turned 41 not because he could no longer hit, but because he could no longer hit without extraordinary measures — anti-inflammatory medication, extensive pregame treatment, days out of the lineup when he has to run the bases too often.

“I wish I could continue play-ing, but it takes a lot out of me,” he said. “I’ve been dealing with it for the past four years. Every year gets worse. I’ve got to put a lot of effort and a lot of work to perform at my highest level. At some point it wears you out.”

Still, in an era in which even 31-year-olds are considered past their prime, Ortiz turned in a season for the ages at 40. He was one of the best hitters in the game even as he was a generation older than most of the game’s greats. In his last season, Ortiz batted .315, slugged 38 home runs, drove in 127 runs and compiled a .401 on-base percentage — numbers that place him in very elite company when compared to other players at that age.

“I feel like I’m the last

dinosaur,” Ortiz said early in the season.

Ortiz came to Boston almost as an afterthought in 2003, a castoff from Minnesota who didn’t win a full-time job until the middle of the season. It took all of 18 months for him to become a legend with his parade of pivotal hits in the team’s run to its identity-transforming World Series title in 2004. He was far from the youngest player on his early Red Sox teams, but he’s the only one left in the major leagues.

Indeed, most of his peers from those historic teams retired at a far younger age than Ortiz did. Trot Nixon and Kevin Youkilis hung up their spikes at 34, Nomar Garciaparra and Bill Mueller at 35, Kevin Millar at 37, Johnny Damon at 38, Manny Ramirez and Jason Varitek at 39. All saw their careers end quietly, the final crest of a wave peter-ing out on a beach.

A generation ago, thanks in part to widespread use of since-banned chemical enhancement, it was far from uncommon for hitters to remain productive deep into their 30s and beyond. Polarizing slugger Barry Bonds, whose use of performance-enhancing drugs has been thoroughly documented, produced some of the most mind-boggling numbers the game has ever seen at an age by which most players have retired.

Since the advent of drug testing, however, the game has trended younger and younger. Ortiz and Alex Rodriguez are the only hitters since 2006 to hit at least 30 home runs at the age of 38 or older. Rodriguez did so a year ago after having spent a year away from the game, a recuperation period that looks even more significant given

how feeble he looks this season. Ortiz went out having done so for the third season in a row. He hit 35 home runs at age 38 and 37 home runs at age 39, and he hit 38 at age 40.

“That’s just what he does,” said Mookie Betts, who played all season at age 23. “He’s been doing it for 20 years.”

HOME RUNS

1. David Ortiz 38 20162. Darrell Evans 34 19873. Hank Sauer 26 1957 Dave Winfield 26 19925. Harold Baines 25 1999

RUNS BATTED IN

1. David Ortiz 127 20162. Dave Winfield 108 19923. Harold Baines 103 19994. Darrell Evans 99 19875. Edgar Martinez 98 2003

DOUBLES

1. David Ortiz 48 20162. Sam Rice 35 19303. Craig Biggio 33 2006 Dave Winfield 33 19925. Ty Cobb 32 1927 Paul Monitor 32 1997

BATTING AVERAGE

1. Ty Cobb .357 19272. Sam Rice .349 19303. Moises Alou .341 20074. Pete Rose .325 19815. Johnny Cooney .319 19416. Rickey Henderson .315 19997. David Ortiz .315 2016

Going out with a bangDavid Ortiz, a 10-time All-Star who broke into the big leagues in 1997, finished his career as the best player in his age-40 season in several offensive categories. He hit more home runs, doubles and drove in more runs than anyone else in Major League Baseball history at that age. Here’s how Big Papi stacks up to the game’s greats who played at age 40 (regular-season only).

SOURCE: BaseballReference.com GATEHOUSE MEDIA

ON-BASE PERCENTAGE

1. Ty Cobb .440 19272. Willie Mays .425 19713. Rickey Henderson .423 19994. Sam Rice .407 19305. Edgar Martinez .406 20036. David Ortiz .401 2016

AGE 40 ALL-TIME LEADERS

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David Ortiz celebrates his walk-off hit to beat the Yankees in the 14th inning of Game 5 of the 2004 ALCS. PHOTOS BYTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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1992At age 17, Ortiz, then known as David Arias, signs with the Seattle Mariners as an amateur free agent.

1996Traded by the Mariners to the Minne-sota Twins as the “player to be named later” to complete a deal that sent Dave Hollins to Seattle.

1997Makes his Major League debut for the Twins against the Chicago Cubs. Pinch-hitting in the seventh inning on Sept. 2, he fl ies out to left-center fi eld off Mark Clark.

2002Released by the Twins after hitting 20 home runs with 75 RBI and 32 doubles in 125 games in 2002. In parts of six seasons in Minnesota, he hits 58 home runs in 455 games.

2003At age 27, signs a one-year, $1.25-million deal with the Red Sox as a free agent. On April 27, he hits his fi rst home run in a Boston uniform, a go-ahead, 14th-inning home run off the Anaheim Angels’ Mickey Callaway. On June 1, he takes over as the full-time DH after man-ager Grady Little benches Jeremy Giambi — who was hitting .191 — and moves Kevin Millar to fi rst base.

2004Hits .301 with 41 home runs and 139 RBI while helping the Red Sox win their fi rst World Series title in 86 years. Named to his fi rst of 10 All-Star teams and voted MVP of the AL Championship Series. Trailing the Yankees, 3-0, in the ALCS, he hits a walk-off homer in the 12th inning of Games Four and a walk-off single in the 14th inning of Game Five. He follows that up with a two-run homer in Game Seven as the Red Sox became the fi rst team in postseason history to win a best-of-seven series after trailing, 3-0.

2005Helps the Red Sox to their third straight playoff appearance, while fi n-ishing second in the American League MVP voting after hitting .300 with 47 home runs and an AL-best 148 RBI. His 363 totals bases are the most in his 20-year career.

2006Leads the AL with 137 RBI and 54 home runs, includ-ing the 200th of his career. Also leads the AL with 119 walks and 355 total bases. On Sept. 21, he hits 51st home run, against the Twins, to break Jimmie Foxx’s Red Sox record set in 1938.

2007After hitting .332 with 35 home runs, 52 doubles and 117 RBI during the regular season, he hits .370 with three homers and 10 RBI in the postseason as the Red Sox sweep the Colorado Rockies to win their second World Series in four years.

David Ortiz was traded by the Mariners to the Twins in 1996.

David Ortiz with the Min-nesota Twins in 1997.

David Ortiz sits alone in the dugout after the Twins lost to the Athletics in Game 3 of the 2002 ALDS.

David Ortiz follows through on a walk-off homer to beat the Orioles in 2003.

David Ortiz hits a two-

run homer off Tampa Bay’s

Seth McClung in 2005.

David Ortiz reacts after stealing second base against the Royals in 2006.

David Ortiz is sprayed in the locker room after the Red Sox beat the Angels in the 2007 ALDS.

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2008In June, he is placed on the disabled list with a partially torn tendon in his left wrist. After missing about a month, he rebounds to hit .264 with 23 home runs and 89 RBI in 109 games, his second fewest as a Red Sox.

2009Statistically his worst full-season in Boston, he goes 34 games and 178 at-bats before hitting his fi rst home run on May 22. Still, he fi nishes with 99 RBI and 28 homers, including the 300th of his career.

2010After hitting just .238 the previous season, rebounds to hit .270 with 32 home runs and 102 RBI. Earning his sixth All-Star Game invite, he wins the Home Run Derby, defeating current teammate Hanley Ramirez of the Florida Marlins in the fi nal.

2011Becomes only the fi fth player to hit 300 home runs with the Red Sox, join-ing Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, Jim Rice and Dwight Evans. Finishes the season with 29 home runs and 96 RBI while batting .309.

2012Despite missing over a month with an Achilles tendon injury, hits .318 with 23 home runs — including the 400th of his career — and 60 RBI in 90 games, the fewest in Boston.

2013At age 37, he hits .309 with 30 home runs and 103 RBI during the regular season – which includes his 2,000th hit and 500th double – but was even better in the postseason. After help-ing the Red Sox defeat the Tampa Bay Rays, Ortiz’s eighth-inning grand slam helps Boston beat the Detroit Tigers in Game 2 of the ALCS. He then hits .688 against the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series to earn MVP honors and a third championship.

2014The Red Sox fi nish in last place in the AL East, 20 games under .500, but Ortiz still hits .263 with 35 home runs and 104 RBI.

2015The Red Sox again fi nish in last place, but Ortiz nearly matches his numbers

from the previous season, batting .273 with 37 home runs and 108 RBI. On Sept. 12, he hits his 500th career

homer, the 27th player to reach that milestone. On Nov. 18, his 40th birthday, he announces that 2016 will be his fi nal season.

Autograph seekers try to get David Ortiz’s attention in the dugout at McCoy Stadium during a rebab assignment with Pawtucket in 2008.

David Ortiz celebrates after hitting a wak-off homer to beat the White Sox in 2009.

David Ortiz tips his cap to the crowd as Boston Mayor Thomas Menino presents him with a plaque in honor of his 400th home run in 2012.

David Ortiz tosses the bat as he watches the flight of his three-run homer against the Tigers in 2015.

David Ortiz reacts after hitting a two-run duble against the Astros in 2014.

“I just swing hard in case I hit it — that’s it.”David Ortiz, 2005 Home Run Derby

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2016Treating fans to the best farewell tour in history, he hits .315 with 38 home runs — the oldest player to hit 30 — while leading the AL with 48 doubles, 127 RBI and a .620 slugging percentage. He becomes the 15th player with 600 doubles

and just the third (Hank Aaron and Barry Bonds are the others) with 600 doubles and 500 home runs.

Red Sox DH David Ortiz says goodbye to the fans at Fenway Park after playing his last game as a member of the Red Sox on Oct. 10. After 20 years, Ortiz finished with a .286 average, 541 home runs and 1,768 RBI. THE PROVIDENCE JOURNAL / BOB BREIDENBACH

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2004 WORLD SERIES

Papi produced at plate (and at fi rst)

By Bill Ballou@BillBallouTG

T here would have been no Red Sox World Series triumph in 2004 without David Ortiz. That’s a given, a point that has

never been in dispute.A look back at that miraculous autumn through the cloudy glass

of more than a decade, though, shows that Ortiz’ contributions to Boston’s sweep of the Cardinals in the World Series were less spec-

tacular than the contributions that got the Sox there in the first place.

David Ortiz celebrates the Red Sox’ 2004

World Series title. THE

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In fact, his biggest moment in the 2004 World Series probably came in the field and not at the plate.

Boston headed to St. Louis with a 2-0 lead for Game Three at Busch Stadium on Oct. 26. Most teams that win the first two games of a World Series go all the way, but not all of them and the Red Sox knew that as well as anyone. They were one of the few teams that did not go all the way, having won the first two games of the 1986 World Series with the Mets before losing in seven games.

So, with that in mind, Game Three was a critical one, and being at a National League park, Ortiz had to play first base to be part of the batting order.

Boston jumped out ahead, 1-0, on

Manny Ramirez’ solo home run in the first inning off former Red Sox hurler Jeff Suppan. Pedro Martinez, making what turned out to be his last appear-ance in a Boston uniform, preserved the 1-0 lead in the bottom of the inning with help from Ramirez, who caught Jim Edmonds’ potential sac-rifice fly in left and threw out Larry Walker at home for an inning-ending double play.

It was still 1-0 when Suppan led off the bottom of the third with an infield hit. Edgar Renteria followed with a double to right and the Cardinals had the tying run at third, the go-ahead run at second, with nobody out and Walker up.

He grounded to second baseman

Mark Bellhorn, who threw to Ortiz to get Walker. Suppan, indecisive at third base, broke down the line but stopped halfway. Ortiz spotted him, took a step in that direction, and threw behind the runner to third baseman Bill Mueller to trap Suppan in a rundown for another double play.

That snuffed out that threat and emotionally, seemed to break the Cardinals’ spirit. Boston won Game Three, 4-1, then captured the World Series with a 3-0 victory the next night.

Although Ortiz was the Sox’ starting first baseman in that game and went 1 for 3, Doug Mientkiewicz came in for the seventh inning and was the man Keith Foulke tossed the ball over to for

the final out on that historic night.Offensively, Ortiz’ contributions to

Boston’s Series Sweep were substan-tial, but not as dramatic as what he did to get the Sox into the Fall Clas-sic. In World Series play, Ortiz was 4 for 13 (.308) with three runs scored, four RBI and one extra base hit, a home run.

In true Ortiz style, it was a big home run. He hit it his first time up in a World Series game, in Game One at Fenway on Oct. 23. It was a 0-0 game when Ortiz came up with one out and two runners on base in the bottom of the first against St. Louis starter Woody Williams.

He hit one into the box seats in the right field corner to give Boston a 3-0 lead in a game the Sox eventually won, 11-9. Ortiz added an RBI single later that night to cap a big night and set the stage for Boston’s first World Series title in 86 years.

Pedro Martinez, Curt Schilling and David Ortiz celebrate after the Red Sox defeated the Cardinals in Game Four to win the 2004 World Series at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. THE

ASSOCIATED PRESS

David Ortiz hits a three-run homer during the first inning of Game One of the 2004 World Series. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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2007 WORLD SERIES

NO FIREWORKS, JUST SOLID AND STEADY

David Ortiz holds up two fingers along with the championship trophy to the fans who gathered to greet the team outside Fenway Park after the Red Sox won the 2007 World Series. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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By Brian MacPherson@brianmacp

For the Red Sox, the 2007 World Series suf-fers from middle-child syndrome — none of the novelty of the first one, none of the recency of the third one. The same goes for Ortiz. Though he went 5-for-15 with three doubles and drove in four runs in four games, a terrific output by any measure, the 2007 World Series is the only World Series in which he did not homer. The highlight reels of his career that were ubiquitous during his final season tended to skip from 2004 to 2013.

Ortiz was a force in 2007 in the middle of a Red Sox lineup that scored more than 850 runs. His 36 home runs, 52 doubles and a .621 slugging per-centage all led the team by a wide margin. Despite being a designated hitter, he finished fourth in American League MVP voting.

That October that saw a 96-win Red Sox team eviscerate the Angels and Rockies but have to storm back from a deficit against Cleveland. It was against the Angels and Indians that Ortiz put his imprint on the triumph.

As good as the Red Sox were during the 2007 regular season, they went to the playoffs with a fan base still a little bit anxious. The 2004 run had felt so magical, but was it an only child?

The franchise has shed its underdog label by 2007, but its fans hadn’t yet shed the sense of dread that came with high October expectations.

Ortiz set an early tone. Kevin Youkilis struck the first offensive blow for the Red Sox that fall, a first-inning home run in Game One of the ALDS against Angels starter John Lackey (with Mike Napoli behind the plate). But it was Ortiz who created necessary cushion, following a Youkilis double with a two-run homer off Lackey, giving the Red Sox a 3-0 lead in a game they’d win by a 4-0 score.

Ortiz homered again in the decisive Game Three of that series, taking Jered Weaver deep — and then seeing Manny Ramirez do the same, back-to-back homers that put the Red Sox well on their way to victory. When the Red Sox scored seven runs against an overmatched Anaheim bullpen in the eighth inning of that game, Ortiz singled and scored.

It was a more fleet-footed Ortiz who scored the run that put the Red Sox ahead in a game they had to have, Game Five of the ALCS against Cleveland — an elimination game for Boston. Ortiz scored from first base on a Ramirez line drive that went for a single only because a confused Ramirez had thought he’d hit a home run. That run gave Josh Beckett and the Red Sox an early lead they would not relinquish. Ortiz hit a sacrifice fly in the seventh and another in the eighth as the Red Sox piled on, as they’d continue to do in the final three games of that series.

When J.D. Drew hit his memorable grand slam at Fenway Park in Game Six of that series, Ortiz was standing on first base.

Two of the World Series games against Colo-rado were laughers, games the Red Sox put away with relative ease. It was the second game that might have decided the series — and while Ortiz didn’t drive in the go-ahead run, it was his two-out walk in the fifth inning that extended the inning long enough for Boston to score the go-ahead run.

Fans hold up letters that spell out “ORTIZ” as they celebrate the Red Sox’ 2007 World Series title during a rolling rally through Boston. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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2013 WORLD SERIES

Ortiz saved his best series for lastBy Tim Britton@TimBritton

I n retrospect, the statline is comical. It has to be a misprint. There is no way that, in a World Series in which the two teams combined to hit .218, David Ortiz hit .688.

The first number has to be wrong, doesn’t it? It should be a three or maybe — maybe — a four. But .688?Try to conceptualize .688. Add up the next three best averages on the Red Sox, and they barely surpass Ortiz’s

batting average for that six-game World Series win over the Cardinals.Ortiz’s reputation in the clutch was already beyond reproach at the start of the 2013 postseason, his heroics

in 2004 the keystone of his Red Sox legacy. But never content to rest on his laurels, the designated hitter added another thrilling chapter to that lore — first with his game-tying, series-transforming grand slam against the Tigers in the ALCS and then with one of the greatest performances in the history of the Fall Classic.

David Ortiz waves a champion-ship flag after the Red Sox

defeated the Cardinals in Game Six of 2013 World

Series. PHOTO ILLUSTRA-

TION. PHOTO FROM AP

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Game One of that World Series was not particularly dramatic, the Red Sox scoring early and often off Adam Wainwright and cruis-ing to an 8-1 win. But like any good orchestra, Ortiz showcased all the elements that were to come in that series right from the start.

Perhaps his worst at-bat of the six games came in his very first. His routine grounder to second was botched on the fielder’s choice by shortstop Pete Kozma. This was a bad harbinger for St. Louis: Even when he made an out in the score-book, everyone was safe.

On his next plate appearance, only a Carlos Beltran larceny of his deep fly ball to right prevented Ortiz from collecting another memorable post-season grand slam to the Fenway Park bullpens. He settled for a sacri-fice fly — for the time being.

In his final at-bat that night, he matched up with fireballing lefty specialist Kevin Siegrist. There had been some talk back then that Ortiz’s bat had slowed just a tad, and maybe Siegrist and his high-90s fastball could exploit that development.

Ortiz crushed the first pitch he

saw from Siegrist — 97 and up — to right for a homer.

“He’s got a good fastball,” Ortiz said after the game. “I still can hit fastballs.”

Ortiz would homer again in Game Two, albeit in a losing cause. He was intentionally walked for the first time in the series in Game Three, and the Cardinals would generally regret not being more proactive with that strategy later on. He had three hits in Game Four, including a double that led to the tying run and excluding the inspirational speech he delivered in his team’s dugout prior to Jonny Gomes’ series-altering home run.

“Above and beyond the numbers, it’s his presence,” manager John Far-rell said that month. “He never shuns the responsibility. He never turns away from a big moment. He’s what gives so many guys in our uniform confidence, the way he goes about his business.”

Ortiz had three more hits in Game

Five, including a first-inning double to carry over the previous night’s momentum.

In the championship clincher in Game Six, Ortiz was quiet. That was by St. Louis’ design. He walked four times, including three intention-ally. The Cardinals had learned their lesson, but too late. Ortiz scored twice after those free passes, helping Boston put away a 6-1 win for a third World Series ring.

“I’d be doing him a disservice trying to put it into words. He just keeps writing new chapters,” then-general manager Ben Cherington said that night. “I know great players are more likely to be great in any moment, but it’s hard to see him in those moments and not think there’s something different about him. We’ve seen him locked in before, but to do it on this stage and do it in so many big moments, I can’t add anything more to the legend that’s already there.”

David Ortiz hits a two-run homer in the sixth inning of Game Two of 2013 World Series. AP

Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina looks back as home plate umpire Jim Joyce calls Boston’s Jonny Gomes safe on a three-run double by Shane Victorino during the third inning of Game Six of the 2013 World Series. At rear, from left, are Jacoby Ellsbury, Xander Bogaerts and David Ortiz. AP

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THE EARLY YEARS

MINNESOTA DAYS HELPED PROPEL PAPI

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By Tim Britton@TimBritton

It has happened once each spring for the last however many years — the one morning when David Ortiz decides to vent about his time with the Twins.

He will talk about how former Min-nesota manager Tom Kelly tried to alter Ortiz’s swing, to make it more of a line-drive stroke capable of going the other way over the shortstop’s head for base hits. He’ll talk about all the high-fives he’d get for a ground ball to second that moved a runner over, but didn’t get him in. He will talk about the freedom he felt when he signed with Boston to be his own hitter again.

Ortiz’s venting aside, it would be negligent to call the totality of the slug-ger’s time in Minneapolis a failure. On the field in his six years with the Twins, Ortiz was an above-average offensive performer and part of the organization’s turn-of-the-century renaissance, help-ing propel Minnesota to the American League Championship Series in 2002.

And Ortiz himself acknowledges that this was a formative time for a young hitter. It doesn’t take long in a conversa-tion about Ortiz’s youth for him to call

to mind the various mentors he had in the Twin Cities — Hall of Famers such as Kirby Puckett and Paul Molitor, as well as one of his closest friends in Torii Hunter.

That’s what made Ortiz feel so hon-ored at Target Field in June this year, by the return of so many friends from his days with the Twins and by the presence of the late Puckett’s family.

“I never got the opportunity to play with Kirby, but Kirby was around when I was in Minnesota, and he had that little chip,” Ortiz said in September. “To me, that’s very important, especially in the game these days. I see a lot of organiza-tions out there that they have that really good young talent, but they don’t have that leadership.”

“He had a little more trouble like a lot of young guys do of handling failure. It would be a lot of emotional highs and lows,” said Molitor, who was Ortiz’s teammate for one full season and a coach for two more. “He had to find out who he was going to be, and once he did, we all know what’s happened. I don’t know how much influence I was able to have, but it was fun being able to watch him as a young kid because he had a lot of enthusiasm and he certainly had the

ability.”Knowing how significant that mentor-

ship was to him at that time, Ortiz has taken on a similar role as he’s aged with the Red Sox. He has been galvanized the last season and a half by the infusion of youth to Boston’s roster, consis-tently impressed by the club’s collective curiosity.

“These guys, they want to learn so badly about the game. That’s something that I love,” Ortiz said. “I talk to them every day about things, because that’s how I was when I was their age. I was searching always. I was a sponge, suck-ing all the details all day, good info that could get me better. When I watch them now in the same mood, I’m 100 per-cent in it. I want them to learn because they’re going to be great players.”

Like Puckett, Ortiz has carried a chip with him, forever cognizant of the fact that a major-league team gave up on him for nothing in return. That drives a player, even a decade and a half later. Ortiz always had the talent to be better than he was in Minnesota, once he was provided with a bit more freedom. But he may not have become quite this accomplished a player without that foundational chip on his shoulder.

David Ortiz, right, is moved toward the dugout by man-ager Tom Kelly, left, and third base coach Ron Gar-denhire, center, after being ejected for arguing strike calls with plate umpire Paul Schrieber during a 2001 game in Kansas City, Mo. AP / ED ZURGA

“My career didn’t work out the way I planned with the Twins, but I don’t have anything but love for the people there.”David Ortiz, Players’ Tribune

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Always be...

informed.

providencejournal.com/mobileapp

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