Goodbye Season David Ortiz Summary

David Ortiz played for the Boston Red Sox. In David Ortiz’ goodbye season he looked to Derek Jeter. Big Papi’s tale definitely doesn’t end with those long nights against the Yankees more than a decade ago. That’s where his legacy began. There was that amazing seven-game American League Championship
T Series in 2003, the one that ended with a Yankees pennant, and enough sadness for Red Sox fans that it made the end of an 86-year title drought just a bit sweeter the next year. “The Yankees were the team to beat back then,” Ortiz said. “Being able to do what we did was something that was very special. It was career-lifting.” The first 30-homer, 100-RBI seasons of Ortiz’ career, everything ties back to that national stage that Ortiz arrived on

in ’03.
That’s the same stage on which Ortiz and the Red Sox destroyed the Yankees in the ALCS before defeating the Cardinals in the 2004 World Series.
“They all mean something because they all take a lot out of you” Ortiz said of his three championships in Boston. “You’ve got to put a lot of things together year-round to end up winning. But 2004, it was one (anticipated) for so long that it kind of made that one special.”
It’s impossible to fully untangle the Red Sox from Jeter, the Yankees from Big Papi, to completely appreciate either team’s larger-than-life star without the other as a foil. Both men are charismatic emblems of an era, icons of their respective superpower clubs—the types of teams that have been diminished as MLB has sought greater parity. But Jeter’s career stands out when held next to Ortiz’ because it is tidy and easily compacted. Jeter is part of the lineage of pinstriped perfection. The Captain never really erred, on or off the field. There’s a lame joke to be made here by a Red Sox fan: Yeah, Jeter might have made an error, if only he had enough range to reach the ball. A Yankees fan’s comeback? Ortiz didn’t even use a glove. Indeed, Ortiz’ legacy is much more complicated than Jeter’s. Case in point: even his position carries a level of controversy. The Hall of Fame voters have not been very hospitable to designated hitters, but Ortiz will likely prove an exception.
Ortiz has been chased by the shadow of MLB’s random drug testing in 2003, when a list of players that was supposed to remain anonymous was revealed to contain Ortiz’ name. Ortiz volunteers in many different charities. In December 2002 Ortiz was told he was going to be let go by the Twins. He’s usually a happy guy but on this day he did not have a smile on his face. He was destroyed. Pedro Martinez saved him. One day Ortiz was sitting in a restaurant in santo domingo and Martinez walks in. Ortiz informs him that the Twins have let him go. Pedro then pulls out his phone and calls the new general manager for the Red Sox and Martinez tell Ortiz that they want him the play for them. Ortiz says “Pedro pulls out his cell phone and walks outside. At this point i’m just thinking, Did I do something to this guy?” Pedro martinez is a respected player in the MLB and Ortiz is just starting up. “I will never, ever forget that night in the restaurant. It changed my life. Two days later, I got a call from my agent: “The Red Sox want to bring you in.” said Ortiz. A year and a half later they won the world series. When he first got to Boston he wasn’t playing at all. He wasn’t getting many opportunities. When they would play at home Pedro Martinez would have him over and they would make food since food is such a huge part of the Dominican culture. Ortiz said “When you’re hungry as a kid, you might throw rocks and knock down coconuts. You might climb a mango tree. Every real meal you get is special. You savor it and enjoy it with people you love. So Pedro and I were always cooking up something good.”
Pedro took him in and gave him nothing but respect and love.

Ortiz learned from Martinez what a pitchers mind set is and Ortiz learned off of that and learned how to read a pitcher and use it as an advantage while he was at the plate. They became sorta like brothers and had a special connection. Ortiz started hitting better and getting playing time. He couldn’t seem to find that starting lineup though. Martinez told the manager he wanted Ortiz batting for him while he was pitching. “Pedro put his ass on the line in order to give me a chance. He believed in me. How many guys would have done that?” said Ortiz. “I’m a World Series champion because of Pedro. He is the most loyal guy I’ve ever met in baseball. He cares about everybody.” Ortiz talks about how where he comes from things don’t come easy. The majority of the population live in poverty but they are the most loyal people and the most joyful people he’s ever met. Since Ortiz and Martinez come from the same area he says he’s blessed to receive this opportunity. “When I was a little kid, we didn’t have money for real baseballs. So on Three King’s Day, my sister got a new baby doll. I figured she wasn’t gonna use the old one, so I chopped off the head and shaved all the hair off. It made for a perfect baseball. You know how I got the idea? I read that Pedro did it. I stole that trick from him.” said Ortiz. David Ortiz and Pedro Martinez are still friends to this day and Ortiz still has charities to help kids in the Dominican because he knows what it’ like coming out of there it’s not

easy.