Photo by The Associated Press.
David Ortiz, affectionately known as “Big Papi,” etched his name and nickname deeper in Boston sports lore Wednesday, leading the Boston Red Sox to a 4-2 World Series victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.
Ortiz did not even get a hit in Wednesday night’s 6-1 clincher; the Cards gave up trying to get him out, so they walked him four times, three times intentionally. But he had done enough damage in the previous five games to take the trophy.
“I know I’m one of the forces for this ballgame and I like to take things personal,” he said. “And that’s been my whole career, a challenge. I wasn’t trying to be the guy, but I know I got to get something done to keep the line moving. I don’t even have to do anything (Wednesday). I guess, the rest of the team took over.”
Ortiz batted .688 for the series with two home runs and five RBI in the Series. Consider that the rest of the Red Sox hit .169 with a 484 OPS and two home runs.
Manager John Farrell was asked to describe Ortiz. “Well,” he said after a pause, “I’d probably rather let his bat do the talking, because it’s pretty special.”
The Red Sox faithful at Fenway Park rained chants of “MVP, MVP” during each of his plate appearances Wednesday night.
“He just keeps writing new chapters,” general manager Ben Cherington said. “I know great players are great, are more likely to be great in any moment but it’s hard to see him in those moments and not think that there’s something different about him. He’s locked in. We’ve seen him locked in before but to do it on this stage, and do it in so many big moments, I can’t add anything more to the legend that’s already there, but he keeps writing more chapters on his own.”
Ortiz’s .760 on-base percentage and batting average were the second-highest in Series history, trailing only Billy Hatcher’s marks of .800 and .750 in 1990 for Cincinnati.
“This guy’s unbelievable,” St. Louis catcher Yadler Molina said on Fox audio.
