Big Papi and the Home Run That Changed Boston Baseball
By Adrian Burgos
David Ortiz was the baseball hero who almost wasn’t. It didn’t have anything to with a lack of talent or desire. The Dominican native had plenty of both.
Rather, Ortiz’s story has a lot to do with timing and the importance of friendship. That combination allowed him to go from a ballplayer that never quite made it as a big leaguer to the man who hit a home run that changed baseball.
For a town.
For a fan base.
For a country.
Second Chances
Before he became “Big Papi,” Ortiz spent time in the Seattle Mariners and Minnesota Twins organizations. Both organizations opted to let him go.
Seattle sent a 20-year-old Ortiz to Minnesota as the player to be named later to complete the Mariners’ acquisition of David Hollins in 1996.
Six years later the Twins released Ortiz outright. Their assessment was that the strong first baseman was not worth the money a young veteran could command.
Two strikes against him in his professional career.
The big question was whether Ortiz would find a third team to take a chance on him.
The unconditional release of a 26-year-old player puts that player’s career at a crossroads. The Twins’ front office decided against building a future with the Dominican at first base or as its designated hitter. That decision could have been a signal to other organizations: This guy isn’t worth it.
Most Latino prospects and big leaguers don’t get a third chance, much less a 26 year-old. There are too many young and hungry prospects in the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and elsewhere in Latin America ready to take their place.
That’s when Ortiz’s friendship with a fellow Dominican changed his future. Pedro Martínez became his advocate, insisting to Boston’s general manager Dan Duquette that taking a chance on his friend was a good move.
The Red Sox signed Ortiz on January 22, 2003. But Boston wasn’t all in on him yet.
Ortiz wasn’t assured of a starting role when he signed. In fact, Jeremy Giambi had been the Red Sox ‘big’ off-season acquisition. As players arrived at spring training, all that was certain was Ortiz would have to battle Giambi and Kevin Millar for at-bats from either first base or designated hitter roles.
The Home Run that Changed Baseball
By mid-season, Ortiz had proven that Pedro was a pretty good evaluator of talent. Ortiz had pretty much taken over the DH-role.
In 2004, Ortiz blossomed into an All-Star. He finished the regular season batting .301 with 41 home runs, driving in 131 and .983 OPS.
The Red Sox finished second in the American League East with 95 wins, qualifying for the wild card. They defeated the Anaheim Angels in the best-of-five Division Series to face the Yankees in the American League Championship Series.
The Red Sox proceeded to fall three games behind the dreaded New York Yankees in the ALCS that year. Boston wanted to avoid the embarrassment of getting swept by their archrivals. The task before them was daunting.
The Yankees brought in their closer Mariano Rivera in the eighth inning of Game 4, seemingly to close out the series. But the Red Sox were able to tie the game in the ninth, going into extra innings and injecting a bit of hope.
Ortiz stepped to the plate in the 12th inning following a Manny Ramírez single. On the 2-1 offering from Yankees reliever Paul Quantrill, Ortiz took the swing that changed everything for Boston.
His home run to win Game 4 gave the Red Sox a chance. The next night Big Papi did it again, hitting a game-winning single in the 14th.
We all know what happened next—the greatest comeback in playoff history. Boston came back from 3-0 to win the ALCS and then went on to win their first World Series title since 1918.
It all started with that swing.
Red Sox fans became fervent believers in the power of the Dominican trinity of Big Papi, Pedro, and Manny.
A nation rejoiced. Dominicans everywhere celebrated how one of their own had started an improbable comeback and made baseball history. Boston became a home-away-from-home for the DR and that swing began the transformation of Beantown into Big Papi’s town.