David Ortiz Caps Off Best April Of His Career
BOSTON (CBS) -- David Ortiz has been just about everything in his nine-plus seasons with the Boston Red Sox. He's won postseason series, hit a whole bunch of walk-offs and established himself as one of the best Boston hitters of the decade.
Despite the success, he's never had a truly outstanding opening month of the season. Until this year.
READ: Valentine Praises Ortiz
Keenly aware of those who doubt him, Ortiz entered the season, yet again, with something to prove. He just barely avoided arbitration with the Red Sox, agreeing to a one-year, $14.575 million contract. Though it was the highest single-season salary of Ortiz's career, he likely entered the season looking to prove he was worth more than a one-year commitment.
And so far, he's lived up to his end of the bargain, as his two-home run night on Monday capped off the best April of his career.
Ortiz On April, Surging Red Sox:
In the month, he hit .405 with a .457 OBP and 1.183 OPS. The numbers have him leading the American League in all three categories, and the hits have almost all been important -- he's hitting .500 with five home runs in the Red Sox' 11 wins this season.
David Ortiz Career Numbers March/April
| YEAR | BA | OBP | OPS | HR | RBI |
| 2012 | .405 | .457 | 1.183 | 6 | 20 |
| 2011 | .267 | .373 | .768 | 2 | 11 |
| 2010 | .143 | .238 | .524 | 1 | 4 |
| 2009 | .230 | .290 | .623 | 0 | 12 |
| 2008 | .184 | .294 | .644 | 5 | 21 |
| 2007 | .297 | .402 | 1.017 | 7 | 22 |
| 2006 | .279 | .391 | 1.030 | 10 | 20 |
| 2005 | .256 | .306 | .862 | 7 | 17 |
| 2004 | .301 | .383 | .985 | 5 | 17 |
| 2003 | .212 | .311 | .658 | 1 | 6 |
| 2002 | .236 | .313 | .840 | 4 | 14 |
| 2001 | .309 | .385 | .990 | 5 | 16 |
| 2000 | .268 | .388 | .778 | 0 | 5 |
| 1999 | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| 1998 | .299 | .382 | .778 | 4 | 17 |
| Career | .266 | .353 | .854 | 57 | 202 |
He's posted better power numbers in Aprils past, and he's had some Aprils that have been impressive in their own right. But he's never had as complete an opening month at the plate as he's had this year, and the fact that he's doing it at 36 years old makes it all the more impressive.
He's doing it a number of ways. For one, he's much leaner, entering the year about 25 pounds lighter than he was last year. While he'll never set world records for his time from home to first, the lighter load has Ortiz as athletic as ever at the age of 36.
Gallery: Red Sox Hot and Not In April
At the plate, he's using all fields, proving the dramatic infield shift employed by opponents to be worthless. FOURTEEN of his hits this year have gone to the left side, a trend that could open up even more holes for him, should teams decide to abandon the shift more often.
He's also hitting better against lefties (.464) than he is against righties (.382), a continuation of last year's success but a separation from his overall career splits (.266 vs. lefties, .293 vs. righties).
Despite the unprecedented start to the season, Ortiz said earlier this month that there's no magic formula or secret to his success.
"I'm a trooper, man. Been here 10 years, and I just go about my business," he said. "I don't really care what anybody says, or whatever anybody tries to put in my head. I just go about my business day by day, try my best and just let things happen."
So far, those things have been happening in bunches, and Ortiz's new manager is among his biggest fans.
"David's the star of stars right now," Bobby Valentine said after Monday's win, which got the Red Sox to 11-11 on the season. "It's hard to throw a strike by him. He's using all fields, he's seeing the ball well. ... His swing is as good as I think it can get."
Ortiz may in fact be hitting as well as he ever has, but April has now turned to May, Ortiz enters a month that has been the second-worst month of his career. If the Red Sox want this success to continue, maybe they ought to remind him of that.
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