“Right now all I’m focusing on is get through this year and make sure we play well in the second half of the season. I barely have time to do anything”, Ortiz explained.
Advertisement
Cubs All-Star center fielder Dexter Fowler told the paper, “You don’t want to ever see a guy like that leave the game”.
Kansas City became baseball royalty last fall, bursting to a 2-0 lead over the New York Mets at Kauffman Stadium, where Cueto pitched a two-hitter in the second game. He clubbed 41 home runs that year in 2004 and finished fourth in MVP voting.
Ortiz announced on November 18 – his 40th birthday – that 2016 would be his final season. Commissioner Rob Manfred announced the christening of one of the game’s oldest and enduring titles for the two former batting champs Tuesday during a ceremony before the 87th All-Star Game. Those were the days when Barry Bonds could playfully lift Torii Hunter off the ground for stealing a home run from him, or Randy Johnson had the freedom to throw a ball to the screen and almost send John Kruk into cardiac arrest, or Larry Walker could turn his helmet around and bat from the right side against the Big Unit for laughs.
If it is to have such meaning, then, shouldn’t we treat it like a real game, with 25-man rosters and with players selected on merit rather than popularity (hello, Addison Russell!) or per-team quotas? “I want to watch him hit a home run”.
“One of the great things that baseball has going for it is that our All-Star Game really beyond debate is the best in professional sports”, he said.
He also laughed at the idea that Fernandez was going to groove him a fastball like Fernandez said he would.
Fernandez called it “an awesome experience”.
Ortiz did eventually see some fastballs, as promised, three in a row at 95 miles per hour each after the first-pitch changeup off the plate. “Whether I pitch well or pitch badly, it’s all about having a short memory”.
Now we were going to ask Ortiz his version but his popularity is such that we couldn’t get close enough.
“He signed the jersey I brought for him”, the 23-year-old Miami Marlins ace said. “It was just special”. When he arrived at first base, Ortiz was replaced by Toronto’s Edwin Encarnacion, then left the field to a standing ovation. I tell everybody this the last round of BP in a game and what is everybody trying to do, is basically hit one out of the park. “I mean, we need a little bit of help and hopefully that happens at some point, who knows?” “So that was a cool moment, I thought”.
During player availability on Monday, the largest media throngs – by far – crowded around Big Papi.
Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper said, “When you say his name, you think of the postseason and all of those World Series rings”. You have to put up the numbers.
They couldn’t play an All-Star Game in San Diego without a nice tribute to Tony Gwynn. I’ve learned so much, I’d like to spread the word around.
Advertisement
Ortiz grounded out hard in his first at-bat in his finale.
