When we asked Bartolo Colon to say goodbye to Ortiz for a social video we were shooting, Colon declined; it seemed as if he couldn’t bring himself to say the words.
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Collins’s reasoning: Had the NL led the game in the ninth inning, he was going to use Familia, who has a major-league best 31 saves without blowing any opportunities, to close it out. He was fascinated with this game, in particular with the jovial designated hitter for the Dominican Republic, the slugger who hit the only home run of the game.
Special assistant to the president of baseball operations David Ortiz can do that. The Miami Marlins ace knew he would be pitching early in the game and told Ortiz he would serve him up three fastballs down the middle so the popular “Big Papi” could go out with a bang.
“Because I’m a lovely person, man”, he said. Olney predicts Bogaerts could sign a seven-year, $72 million deal comparing him to similar shortstops Andrelton Simmons and Starlin Castro.
Fernandez would not be long for Cuba.
The David Ortiz Farewell Tour gathered momentum.
With a record-tying number of foreign-born players in this year’s All-Star Game and the expanding presence of stars from Latin America, the absence of a Latin manager in baseball this year is all the more pronounced.
As it is with both league leaders for stolen bases and saves, the batting crown will now be named after players, Rod Carew in the American League and Gwynn in the National League.
“It’s our whole row here”, said Bryant, who homered in the first inning.
The Boston Red Sox DH added a new tattoo on his left hand that features a red star with the number 10 inside.
He might not have seen a lot of action in tonight’s All-Star game, but that didn’t stop Big Papi from being showered with love and respect.
Ortiz called the embraces “something I’ll never forget”. Yost said, had Fernandez retired Ortiz, he would have sent Ortiz up to the plate for his next at-bat, but then pinch-hit for him prior to the first pitch, so he could have received a similar ovation.
“If he would have hit it, it would have been amusing”, Fernandez said. “It would have been great”. Ortiz took seven pitches, wearing down Fernandez, who finally let a curveball get away from him and nearly hit Ortiz in the leg.
The fastballs screamed toward home plate at 95 and 96 miles per hour. On the seventh pitch, with the count full, Fernandez almost hit Ortiz with an 83-mph slider.
Ortiz shot Fernandez a bemused look. “Then 3-2 he threw me a slider and I’m like, ‘Are you trying to break my back?’ But he said it was the catcher’s fault”. The host league is the visiting team for the first time in the game’s history because the game, which determines home-field advantage in the World Series, is being played in an NL park for the second of four consecutive years. He mentioned that his time in New England, not just Boston, was the best thing to happen to him and his family.
“I was watching it in my house, and I was crying like a little baby”, Ortiz said. “It was very touching”.
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It’s also not harmless because Orioles fans don’t like seeing the Red Sox get feted in any situation, but, you know, we’ll just have to live with that. The next at-bat, Yost pulled Ortiz after a walk and the parade of chest-bumping commenced. “You guys made my job easier, and I made your jobs easier”.
