Storyline: To think that Ortiz deserves anything like that from Yankees’ fans is outlandish and presumptuous. But isn’t that what Big Papi is all about?
This will be the last season David Ortiz will get the chance to torture the New York Yankees–and their fans–before hanging up his cleats and moving on to baseball afterlife. But at Red Sox spring training Ortiz said that he’d like Yankee fans to give him a “standing ovation” during his last trip to the Bronx this season. He went on to say that he “didn’t expect or want any gifts, but he’d take the standing ovation.”
Courtesy: newyorkdailynews.com
I can tell you one Yankees fan who would never think about standing up, or even cheering, for Ortiz. Me.
I’d rather go to the restroom, grab the last beer, eat the last hot dog, or leave early to beat the crowd.
Is he kidding?
He must be. Ortiz, of all players in the league — much less the hated Red Sox — has the gall to make this request to Yankee fans. Who the heck does he think he is, Derek Jeter or Mo Rivera?
It’s not April 1st so it can’t be April Fool’s Day. But that’s exactly what Papi is doing to the fans of the 27-time World Champs. Is there any more of a hated rivalry than the Bronx Bombers and the Red Sox? Can anyone forget the ‘we finally won a World Series title’ after almost 100 years? And what about the Yankees’ collapse in the ALCS after being up three games to none – with the aforementioned Mariano Rivera on the mound to close the deal?
Ortiz must have a short memory or–for some reason–he feels he’s entitled to this farewell tour of his.
Courtesy: bleacherreport.com
The reality? Ortiz was a so-so player, at best, when he was with the Twins – a .250 hitter without the home run prowess that he has had with the Bosox. He was basically a Twins’ cast-off and it didn’t look like he’d have a future in baseball.
Let’s remember that it was the PED era. Ortiz failed a drug test that were never to come out in public. Can anyone say A-Rod?
I’ll be the first to admit that being a Yankees fan makes me a little tainted. But how can anyone edify this guy when baseball did everything in its power to destroy Rodriguez two years ago? No one says A-Rod is a choir boy–far from it–but let’s try to put things in perspective.
What do you think will happen at Fenway Park when A-Rod plays his last game? It’s likely to be full of middle fingers and four-letter words. Deserved? Probably. But Red Sox fans, like Yankee fans, won’t let years of bad memories go to waste.
Courtesy: yanksgoyard.com
On the other hand…. Cal Ripken, Jr., Jeter, Rivera, and some of the other greats make baseball what it is. They haven’t tainted the game, on-or off- the-field. They deserve to be cheered for years of playing the game the right way. But also consider this: none of them, or anyone that I can recall, has ever requested that fans acknowledge them before Spring Training games even beings.
Except Ortiz. Talk about being an ego-maniac! Because Yankee fans are a distinctive bunch, just like those in Boston, his stunt will only enhance the battle between these two clubs. And that should make a fun season of games.
Without question, Ortiz has had a great ‘second’ career with Boston – served well by being a lifelong DH. Many baseball purists still don’t believe that designated hitters are really ‘hitters.’ It’s a way to prolong careers of older players who can still hit the ball but can’t play the field. The National League doesn’t have this problem — although there’s talk that they may actually cave-in and institute a DH in the coming seasons. Sometimes players have to know when to hang up their cleats and move on with their lives. Ortiz is one of those, but not the only one.
Courtesy: scontursi.wordpress.com
Red Sox fans should be happy. The BoSox have had a great run since winning the first of three World Championships in 2004. Ortiz has been a big part of that success. That doesn’t mean the rest of the baseball world–or fans that don’t root for Boston–should thank him for his service to baseball. It’s almost a guarantee that Big Papi has made their lives a living hell from time to time. They can’t for him to call it a day.
To think that Ortiz deserves anything more is outlandish and presumptuous on his part. But isn’t that what Papi is all about? He’s a legend in his own mind.
