Ortiz Not Feeling Added Pressure With Chase To 500 Homers
BOSTON (CBS) -- David Ortiz is just 11 homers shy of joining the illustrious 500 home run club, but that doesn't mean the Boston slugger is swinging solely for the fences these last two months.
Whenever that historic accomplishment happens, it happens.
"I'm not putting pressure on myself to get there," Ortiz recently told The Boston Herald. "I keep on playing the game normal. I've seen guys that, as they get closer, every swing is looking for the fence. We have plenty of games left. But if it doesn't happen this year, it happens next year."
Ortiz has been on a bit of a home run tear as of late, clubbing three homers in his last four games, and 10 of his 23 dingers on the season have come since July 1. He didn't really put much thought into his quest for 500 homers until the end of last season, when people pointed out he was just 34 blasts away from the milestone.
"That's when I sat back and was like, 'Wow.' It's something that, to me, is very special," he said.
Ortiz would become just the fourth Dominican Republic native to join the 500 club, along with Sammy Sosa, former teammate Manny Ramirez and Albert Pujols. While his chase might not be garnering much attention stateside, at least not yet, it's front-page news in the Dominican.
"Back in my country, people are just counting every day," said Ortiz. "Every time I hit a home run, I'm on the front page of the newspapers there. Just counting, counting, counting. It's something that, it's kind of special."
With the Red Sox well out of the postseason race, Ortiz's chase to join the 500 club is one of the few storylines Boston fans can follow over the final 50 games of the season.