10 Greatest Moments Of David Ortiz's Red Sox Career
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- David Ortiz will reportedly be walking away from the game at the end of the 2016 season, and the baseball world will no doubt be a worse place without him. Players with the combination of great ability and incredible charisma don't come around too often, and there will never be another player quite like Big Papi.
With the news breaking that Ortiz plans to retire at the conclusion of the upcoming season, debates about his Hall of Fame worthiness are sure to rage from now until 2021, and perhaps even beyond that. While there may be plenty of good discussions to be had regarding Ortiz and the Hall of Fame, I say ... what's the rush? The argument won't really matter for at least six years, so there's no need to get too heated at this very moment.
In the meantime, with baseball season still a long four-plus months away, here's a trip down memory lane for the 10 greatest moments of David Ortiz's illustrious Red Sox career.
10. Welcome To The Red Sox
David Ortiz was a little-known player when he signed with Boston as a free agent in January 2003. While fighting for playing time with Jeremy Giambi, Ortiz made the most of his opportunity in an extra-innings game with the Angels on April 27, belting a solo home run to lead off the 14th inning. It would be the first of many instances of Ortiz coming through for the Red Sox late in games.
9. The Walkoffs
While David Ortiz authored plenty of signature postseason moments, he's delivered too many clutch regular-season performances to count. Particularly in 2005 and 2006, Ortiz was a monster with the game on the line. In one nine-day stretch in September 2005, Ortiz hit three game-winning home runs. In June 2006, Ortiz provided walk-off hits in two straight games. It got to the point where it became surprising when Ortiz didn't come through with a walk-off hit.
8. Red Sox Record In '06
The Red Sox have been around for quite a while -- 115 years to be exact -- yet nobody has ever hit more home runs in a single season than David Ortiz. At age 30, Ortiz blasted 54 home runs in just 151 games in 2006, setting a team record for long balls. It's a record that might not stand as long as Jimmie Foxx's 50 did (68 years), but then again ... it just might.
7. 2007 Postseason
While the Octobers of '04 and '13 have unforgettable moments that will always be remembered, his work in the World Series-winning postseason of 2007 lacks the "signature" hit. Yet Ortiz was thoroughly excellent in '07, batting .370 with three home runs, six doubles, 10 RBIs and a 1.204 OPS in 14 games.
6. 2004 ALDS
While yes, it may be true that even if the Red Sox lost Game 3 of the 2004 ALDS, they would have had two more cracks to beat the Angels, and they very likely would have been able to take care of business. But the Red Sox never had to find out, and they ended up sweeping the Angels in dramatic fashion, with Ortiz smashing the first pitch from lefty reliever Jarrod Washburn over the Green Monster in the bottom of the 10th. The home crowd was sent into a frenzy, but it was only the first of memorable nights at Fenway Park that month.
5. (Blank Space For 2016)
David Ortiz will be 40 years old next season, but if you think he'll end his career without a bang, you clearly haven't been paying attention. Ortiz is a player who's always risen to the occasion, and the retirement announcement seems like a public declaration that he's going to bring it with all he's got next year. While it would take some wild optimism to expect the Red Sox to once again experience a worst-to-first type of turnaround, they have done it before, and Ortiz has been a central driving force. It'll be awfully interesting to see what he'll bring in 2016.
4. The Grand Slam
The Red Sox were in danger of falling behind two games to none in the '13 ALCS with the prospect of heading to Detroit for three games staring them in the face. It was not the loveliest place to be. Yet in the bottom of the eighth, the Red Sox gained some life when Will Middlebrooks hit a one-out double, Jacoby Ellsbury walked, and Dustin Pedroia singled into right field. In came reliever Joaquin Benoit to face David Ortiz.
The at-bat lasted one pitch.
Ortiz tagged a line drive to right field, over the outstretched reach of Torii Hunter and into the Red Sox bullpen. Tie game. Series -- and season -- saved.
It was just one of two total hits for Ortiz in the entire series, but suffice it to say, he made it count.
3. This Is Our F****** City
For most people, sports provide a relief from the real world. But there are times when sports can't provide the escape from real-life tragedies, and the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing was certainly one of those times. So when 35,000 fans entered Fenway Park on April 20, 2013, one day after one of the bombers had been captured after a day-long, city-wide search, nobody knew exactly how to feel. Many Bostonians weren't yet comfortable gathering large crowds so soon after the bombing, but they nevertheless headed to Fenway, where David Ortiz was making his season debut.
He'd go 2-for-4 in the game, but it was during the pregame ceremony that Ortiz made that day unforgettable. With a microphone in his hand, Ortiz stood in the infield and spoke from the heart.
"All right, Boston," Ortiz said before pausing to applaud members of local law enforcement as they walked off the field. "This jersey that we are wearing 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 that they did this past week. This is our f****** city, and nobody's gonna dictate our freedom. Stay strong. Thank you."
2. 2013 World Series
There's no way to truly describe just how dominant David Ortiz was in the 2013 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. At 37 years old, Ortiz was absolutely on fire, to the point where the Cardinals had no choice but to stop pitching to him.
In Game 1, he went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run and a sacrifice fly. In Game 2, he again went 2-for-3 with another home run, driving in the Red Sox' only two runs of the night. In Game 3, the Cardinals started to catch on, walking him twice (once intentionally), but he still managed to go 1-for-2 at the plate. In Game 4, with the Red Sox trailing in the series 2-1, Ortiz went 3-for-3 with a double, an intentional walk, and two runs scored. He also delivered an impassioned speech to his teammates when he felt the team was lacking life.
In Game 5, he went 3-for-4 with a double and a first-inning RBI. He was held hitless in Game 6, but only because the Cardinals walked him four times -- three times intentionally.
By the end of the series, Ortiz batted. 688 with a .760 on-base percentage and 1.948 OPS.
It was a championship won by a number of players turning in exceptional performances, but nobody even came close to David Ortiz.
1. 2004 ALCS
The legend of David Ortiz was born in the early morning hours of Oct. 18, 2004. It was then, long after the Kevin Millar walk and the Dave Roberts steal and the Bill Mueller single and hours after starting pitchers Derek Lowe and Orlando Hernandez left the game, that the entire Red Sox remained hanging in the balance. In the bottom of the 12th inning, following a Manny Ramirez single, David Ortiz strode to the plate and at 1:22 a.m., he turned on an inside pitch from Paul Quantrill, sending it deep into the October night. When it came down, the Red Sox were winners, and their season was still alive.
The Red Sox would not lose again.
The following night, the game went even longer, but as the game approached its sixth hour, Ortiz again came up, this time in the bottom of the 14th. With Johnny Damon on second base, Ortiz was locked in a 10-pitch battle with Esteban Loaiza before muscling a 2-2 pitch into center field. Damon came around to score, and the Red Sox once again were saved by David Ortiz.
From that point forward, Ortiz went 5-for-26 with homers in Game 7 of the ALCS and Game 1 of the World Series, but it was what he did those two nights against the Yankees that forever cemented his place in Red Sox history.
Read more from Michael Hurley by clicking here. You can email him or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.
