From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

David Ortiz
Ortiz after swinging at a pitch
Boston Red Sox — No. 34
Designated hitter, First baseman
Born: November 18, 1975 (1975-11-18) (age 34) Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Bats: Left	Throws: Left
MLB debut
September 24, 1997 for the Minnesota Twins
Career statistics (through 2009)
Batting average	.282
Home runs	317
Hits	1457
Runs batted in	1,068
Teams
Minnesota Twins (1997-2002) Boston Red Sox (2003-present)
Career highlights and awards
4x Silver Slugger Award winner (2004, 2005, 2006 2007) 5x All-Star selection (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008) Led AL in home runs in 2006 Led AL in runs batted in in 2005 and 2006 2x World Series champion (2004, 2007) The Sporting News Designated Hitter of the Decade (2000s) Holds MLB record for most home runs as a DH

David Ortiz (born 1975 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) is a Dominican Major League Baseball designated hitter who has played for the Boston Red Sox since 2003. Previously, Ortiz played for the Minnesota Twins (1997–2002). Nicknamed "Big Papi," Ortiz is a five-time All-Star and holds the Red Sox single-season record for home runs with 54, set during the 2006 season. "Big Papi" is 6′4″ and weighs 230 pounds (104 kg). Ortiz plays first base in NL parks.

In 2009 it was revealed that Ortiz tested positive for a banned substance during a survey of all major league players in 2003.^[1]

Career

Early career

David Ortiz shares a word with Toby Hall, then of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

David Ortiz graduated from Estudia Espallat High School in the Dominican Republic and in 1992 he was signed by the Seattle Mariners who listed him as "David Arias" (possibly not understanding Spanish naming customs). He played for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, a Mariners farm team, until 1996, when the Mariners received Dave Hollins from the Minnesota Twins for a player to be named later. Later that season, the Mariners announced that the player to be named later would be Arias. When he arrived in Minnesota, he informed the team that he preferred to be listed as "David Ortiz," making him, quite literally, a player to be named later. He made his debut in September 1997. For a few years, he was moved back and forth between the Twins and their minor league affiliate, the Salt Lake Buzz. In 2002, Ortiz hit .272 for Minnesota, with 20 home runs and 75 RBIs. The Twins advanced to the American League Championship Series that year, where they lost to the Anaheim Angels. Despite showing flashes of talent, Ortiz's time with the Twins will be remembered as a series of injuries and inconsistency both in the field and at the plate. Ortiz suffered wrist injuries in both 1998 and 2001. When knee problems hit in early 2002 and plagued him throughout the season, his fate with the Twins was sealed despite hitting 32 doubles, 20 homers and 75 RBIs, in only 125 games. In six seasons with the Twins, Ortiz hit 58 homers.^[2]

2004

In 2004, Ortiz played a major role in leading the Red Sox to their first World Series championship in 86 years. This was Ortiz's second year with the Red Sox and his first year as their full-time designated hitter. During the season, Ortiz was voted onto the All-Star team for the first time in his career, as he batted .301 with 41 home runs and 139 RBI. In the playoffs, Ortiz hit .400 with 5 home runs and 19 RBI. He had multiple game-winning hits to help Boston advance to and ultimately win the World Series. He hit a walk-off home run off of Jarrod Washburn to win the American League Division Series against the Angels. He then hit a walk-off home run against the New York Yankees in Game 4 of the ALCS and a walk-off single in Game 5 during the American League Championship Series. His post-season heroics earned him MVP honors for the ALCS. Additionally, he finished fourth in AL MVP voting.

2005

In 2005 Ortiz set a new career high of 47 home runs, 43 of them as a designated hitter, beating Edgar Martínez's record of 37 set in 2000. Twenty of his home runs either tied or gave Boston the lead, and over the period 2003-2005, he hit .326, with 22 home runs and 73 RBIs in only 221 at bats in the late innings of close games. He also led the American League in RBI with 148, and his 47 homers were second in the AL to the Yankees' Alex Rodriguez. He also finished second to Rodriguez in MVP votes.

The 2005 American League AL MVP was a significant debate among baseball circles as both Rodriguez and Ortiz finished the regular season with impressive offensive statistics. He finished with new career highs in runs (119), RBIs (148), walks (102), on-base percentage (.397), and slugging percentage (.604). Two sportswriters left Ortiz completely off the ten player ballot, citing Ortiz's position as a designated hitter.

2006

In 2006 Ortiz hit 54 home runs (setting a new Red Sox record) and had 137 RBI, while batting .287 with an OPS of 1.049. He led the American League in both HR and RBI, winning the HR crown by 10 over the 2nd place finisher Jermaine Dye .

2006 was a year of Walk-off home runs (the act of winning a game in the bottom half of the last inning) for Ortiz. He excelled in Late Inning Pressure Situations (LIPS), hitting more walk-off base hits (5, including 3 home runs) that year than most teams.^[3]

On August 27, 2006, Ortiz tied his career high in home runs by hitting his 47th home run of the year off Cha Seung Baek of the Seattle Mariners. On September 20, 2006, Ortiz tied Jimmie Foxx's single season Red Sox home run record of 50 set in 1938; in the 6th inning against Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Boof Bonser, Big Papi launched the ball into the center field bleachers behind the Red Sox bullpen. Ortiz has the unique achievement of having increased his season home run tally in each of seven consecutive seasons (starting from 1999, year-by-year he has hit 0, 10, 18, 20, 31, 41, 47 and 54 HRs).

On September 27, 2006, Ortiz broke Jimmie Foxx's single season Red Sox home run record by hitting his 51st home run off his former teammate, Johan Santana of the Minnesota Twins. The home run came on a 1-0 pitch in the first inning and it was his 44th home run as a designated hitter in 2006, breaking his own American League single-season record. Ortiz then hit his 52nd home run off reliever Matt Guerrier on a full count in the seventh inning. He finished the season with a franchise record 54 home runs.

Health issue in 2006

Ortiz also said he began feeling ill between games of a day-night doubleheader on August 18, 2006, against New York that dragged into the early morning. Between games, he had gone home and tried to sleep but couldn't. Ortiz was reportedly driven to the hospital by a team assistant. An irregular heartbeat was the cause for the stress according to his doctors. Ortiz would not originally talk about his condition, but opened up to the media on August 25, 2006, reportedly saying "I'm a healthy son of a [gun]." ^[4]

On August 28, 2006, Ortiz had recurring symptoms from his irregular heartbeat and was a last minute scratch in the Red Sox game at Oakland. Manager Terry Francona and General Manager Theo Epstein agreed that Ortiz fly back to Boston where he was reevaluated and cleared to play again in early September.

2007

In 2007, Ortiz once again was a major force as he helped lead the Red Sox to their seventh World Series title. Despite playing the entire season with a torn meniscus in his right knee as well as nagging injuries to his shoulder and quadriceps, he finished the year hitting .332 with 35 home runs and 117 RBI. In addition, he hit 52 doubles, led the American League in extra base hits and had an OPS of 1.066. In the postseason Ortiz batted .370 with 3 home runs and 10 RBI.

2008

2008 was a frustrating season for Ortiz. After starting slowly he suffered a wrist injury which caused him to miss several weeks. He played in only 109 games and finished the season hitting .264 with just 23 home runs and 89 RBI, his lowest totals since joining the Red Sox. However, his ratio of homering every 18.1 at-bats still led the team. In his first six seasons with Boston, Ortiz has hit 231 home runs, with the most homers against the Rays (34), and the Yankees (25).^[2]

2009

Ortiz struggled in the beginning of the 2009 season, hitting only .208 with no home runs and 30 strikeouts in his first 34 games. On May 20, Ortiz hit his first home run of the season off Brett Cecil of the Toronto Blue Jays, ending his career-high 149 homerless at-bat streak.^[5] In June, Ortiz broke out of his slump by hitting 7 home runs with 18 RBI. On July 9, Ortiz hit his 300th career home run against Luke Hochevar of the Kansas City Royals at Fenway Park. Ortiz continued to recover from his slow start by clubbing 7 home runs with 24 RBI in July and hitting 7 more home runs in August. On September 15, Ortiz hit his 270th career home run as a DH off of Jose Arredondo of the Los Angeles Angels breaking the all time record held by Frank Thomas. Ortiz finished the season with 28 HR'S and 99 RBI.

Alleged performance enhancing substance use

On July 30, 2009, The New York Times reported that Ortiz and then-teammate Manny Ramirez were among a group of roughly 100 major league players to test positive for performance-enhancing drugs during 2003 survey testing.^[1] Five months before the Times allegations surfaced, Ortiz argued that players who tested positive for steroids should be suspended for an entire season.^[1] Before the Red Sox's game that afternoon, Ortiz declined to comment on the report, saying, "I'm not talking about that anymore."^[1] Afterwards, he confirmed he had tested positive and promised to speak with the media once he "[got] to the bottom of" the matter.^[6]

Ten days later, Ortiz held a press conference before a game at Yankee Stadium and denied ever buying or using steroids but suggested the positive test might have been due to his "careless" use of "supplements and vitamins" at the time.^[7] When asked which supplements he had been taking, Ortiz said he didn't know.^[8] Ortiz was accompanied at the press conference by the general counsel of the players union, Michael Weiner. Because the list of players who tested positive was seized as part of a government investigation and is currently under court-ordered seal pending the outcome of litigation, Weiner said the players union was unable to provide Ortiz with any details about his test result, including what substance he tested positive for.^[7][8]

Personal life

David Ortiz points to the sky after hitting a home run.

Each time Ortiz crosses the plate after hitting a home run, he looks up and points both index fingers to the sky in tribute to his mother Angela Rosa Arias, who died in a car crash in January 2002 at the age of 46.^[9] Ortiz also has a tattoo of his mother on his biceps.

Ortiz and his wife Tiffany have three children: Jessica (born October 23, 1996), Alexandra (born March 22, 2001), and D'Angelo (born July 10, 2004).

On June 11, 2008, Ortiz became a United States citizen at John F. Kennedy Library in Boston.^[10][11]

Reebok sponsorship

In April 2007, sporting goods company Reebok debuted the Big Papi 10M Mid Baseball cleat at a party in Canton, Massachusetts, home to the headquarters of Reebok International Ltd. At the party, Ortiz was quoted as saying, "Reebok's loyalty and friendship have always made me feel right at home and we are true partners in every sense of the word,... ." Ortiz first used the cleat during the 2007 MLB All Star Game in San Francisco, California.^[12]

Charity work

The David Ortiz Children's Fund was founded in 2007 to support a range of causes that David believes in. The Fund allows David the flexibility to donate to those children are in the most need at any given time, from Boston to the Domincan Republic and beyond. David Ortiz released his own Charity Wine label in 2008 with all the proceeds going to the David Ortiz Children's Fund. The wine called Vintage Papi proceeded to raise $150,000 for charity.^[13]

Career highlights

• 5-time All-Star (2004-2008)
• Top 5 MVP vote-receiver five times (5th, 2003; 4th, 2004; 2nd, 2005; 3rd, 2006; 4th, 2007)
• 2005 Hank Aaron Award winner
• 4-time winner of the Silver Slugger Award (2004-2007)
• 5-time winner of the Edgar Martínez Award (2003-2007)
• Led the American League in extra base hits 3 times (2004, 2005, 2007)
• American League Championship Series MVP (2004)
• Led the American League in Home Runs (2006)
• Led the American League in Runs Batted In (2005, 2006)
• American League Player of the Month for September 2005 and July 2006.
• Member of the 2004 Boston Red Sox team that won the World Series.
• Red Sox single season home run leader (54; 2006)
• Tied with Babe Ruth for AL single season home run record in road games (32; 2006)
• First player ever to hit two walk-off home runs in the same postseason (against the Angels (ALDS) and Yankees (ALCS), 2004)
• First player in Red Sox history to hit 40 or more home runs in three consecutive seasons (2004-2006)
• Set new record for home runs by a DH in 2005 (47), then again in 2006 (54)
• 5 straight seasons of at least 30 HR and 100 RBI (2003-2007)
• Tied with Billy Hatcher for all-time post-season consecutive on-base streak (10)
• Member of the 2007 Boston Red Sox team that won the World Series.
• 85 extra-base hits or more for four consecutive years, something only 2 other players--Lou Gehrig (5) and Sammy Sosa (4)--have ever done.^[14]
• Ortiz's home run total increased each year from 2000-2006, starting with 10 home runs, and ending with 54.
• Became all time DH home run leader on September 15, 2009 by hitting his 270th as a Designated Hitter.

List of walk-off HR

Ortiz has hit 12 career walk-off HR, the highest of any active player, and 20 walk-off hits total. He is currently 1 HR behind Mickey Mantle, the career leader in walk-off HR ^[15]. David Ortiz hit walkoff HR on the following dates:

• September 25, 2002. Twins 7, Indians 5. 12th inning two-run home run off of Dave Maurer.
• September 23, 2003. Red Sox 6, Orioles 5. 10th inning home run over the Green Monster to win the game.
• April 11, 2004. Red Sox 6, Blue Jays 4. 12th inning, two-run home run over the Green Monster.
• October 8, 2004. Red Sox 8, Angels 6. Two-run series-clinching home run off Jarrod Washburn over the Green Monster in the 10th inning of Game 3 of the 2004 ALDS.
• October 17, 2004. Red Sox 6, Yankees 4. 12th inning 2-run home run off Paul Quantrill in game 4 of the ALCS.
• June 2, 2005. Red Sox 6, Orioles 4. Three-run walk-off home run to center off B. J. Ryan in the bottom of the 9th inning.
• September 6, 2005. Red Sox 3, Angels 2. 9th inning home run to win the game. Ortiz is awarded a plaque declaring him to be "The Greatest Clutch Hitter in the History of the Boston Red Sox." ^[16]
• June 11, 2006. Red Sox 5, Rangers 4. 3-run, two-out, 9th inning home run off Akinori Otsuka to win the game.
• June 24, 2006. Red Sox 5, Phillies 3. 10th inning 2-run home run to win the game.
• July 31, 2006. Red Sox 9, Indians 8. Three-run home run in the 9th inning.
• September 12, 2007. Red Sox 5, Devil Rays 4. Two-run home run in the 9th inning.^[17]
• August 26, 2009. Red Sox 3, White Sox 2. Solo home run in the 9th inning.^[18]

See also

• MLB players who have hit 30 or more home runs before the All-Star break
• 50 home run club
• Top 500 home run hitters of all time
• List of Major League Baseball RBI champions
• List of Major League Baseball home run champions

References

External links

• David Ortiz's MLB.com site
• Fan-driven, Red Sox social media site
• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• Ten Questions for David Ortiz on Time.com (a division of Time Magazine)
• Stephan and Big Papi

From Wikiquote

David Américo Ortiz Arias (born 18 November 1975) is a professional baseball player who plays for the Boston Red Sox. He has won 2 championships with them, and was named the 2004 American League Championship Series MVP.

Sourced

• We keep on fighting, we keep on playing. We won tonight and we're going to try to keep on winning.

• Ian Browne. "On cue, Drew caps remarkable Sox rally", MLB.com, October 17, 2008. URL accessed on 2008-12-26.

• I just love the feeling from the fans and when I'm walking on deck I can hear people screaming and wishing you the best. That puts you into the game more than anything.

• Biography at biggeststars.com

Unsourced

• That's basketball, man. One guy can do it in basketball. This is baseball. You need more than one guy.
  • after hearing that fellow teamate Gabe Kapler had said: "What he's doing is Jordanesque."

• The only question I have for New York is "Who's your Papi?"
  • after Ortiz's home run in extra innings won the game, and in response to the New York Yankees fans chanting "Who's your Daddy?"

• You know, I'm not a guy who's going to steal bases, but we needed a run and we didn't have any action from the hitters, so that's why I went.
  • after the stocky player tried to steal second during the ALCS, his first attempt at stealing a base since joining the Red Sox in 2003.

• It doesn't matter if we we're down 3-0. You've just got to keep the faith. The game is not over until the last out.
  • After helping the Boston Red Sox to win the 2004 American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees with four straight wins, after being down 0-3 games in the best-of-seven game series. Toronto Star (21 October 2004)

• We didn't score seven runs tonight, so that's why we didn't win. Good night.

• That ball wasn't even close to Ted Williams' seat back there. That kind of got me frustrated. You know, you hit the ball like that and you've still got to go 25 more rows up to get close to Mr. Ted Williams … I don't know.

• The United States has provided my family and me with more than we could have ever dreamed. I'll never forget the way Red Sox fans and the team's owners helped my country after the floods last year.

• When life give you lemons, smash 'em with a bat.

External links

Wikipedia has an article about:

David Ortiz