Elliott: Despite being pinch hit for in 2010, Ortiz had plenty left
It’s been said that the men who scout baseball have “special eyes,” and how they are able to see into the future. At the end of April in 2010 we spoke to a scout about David Ortiz.
In the three-game series, the Red Sox scored 17 with 33 hits against Blue Jays pitchers -- Dana Eveland, Jeremy Accardo, Shawn Camp, Casey Janssen, Scott Downs, Kevin Gregg, Shaun Marcum, Brett Cecil, Josh Roenicke and Rommie Lewis. Ortiz had zero hits.
Of those 111 Boston plate appearances in the three games Ortiz had three plate appearances (a walk, a ground ball turned into a double play and a fly ball facing Marcum). The worst at-bat never happened. Facing lefty Scott Downs, manager Terry Francona called the future Hall of Famer back for pinch hitter Mike Lowell.
When the Red Sox charter left Pearson International bound for Baltimore, Ortiz boarded carrying a .154 batting average and a .549 OPS.
After leaving Rogers Centre in the next seven seasons -- counting what was remaining of the 2010 schedule -- all Ortiz did was play in 942 games, batting .294 with 247 doubles, 220 homers and 686 RBIs. He averaged 35 doubles, 31 homers and 99.4 RBIs a season.
Originally published April 29, 2010
BY BOB ELLIOTT
Canadian Baseball Network
Is David Ortiz done?
“I’ve got two words for you,” a top talent evaluator said. “Carlos Pena.”
What on Earth does Pena have to do with Ortiz?
Entering 2008 season, Ortiz was coming off three straight 100-plus RBIs seasons and was one of the most feared sluggers in the game.
But Tuesday night, the lovable Big Papi was called back to the dugout with lefty Scott Downs on the mound and the bases loaded with two out in the eighth. When Francona sent up Mike Lowell, Jays manager Cito Gaston countered with right-hander Kevin Gregg. Lowell drew a four-pitch, bases-loaded walk for the Red Sox for the deciding run.
And Ortiz was on the bench again Wednesday with Jays lefty Brett Cecil starting.
“I saw Pena when he was with the Detroit Tigers one night against Cleveland in 2005 and guys were busting (Pena) inside with 86-87 mph fastballs. I thought he was done,” the scout said. “Everyone did. Just not our club.”
The next spring the Tigers released Pena. He was signed by the New York Yankees and released the next day and signed with Boston the day after that.
“So, now the next year we need pitching help, I go to see Kyle Lohse and Pena is with Columbus,” the scout said. “Now, they aren’t getting inside fastballs past him. I’m talking higher velocity.
“People said: ‘Ah, it’s just triple-A.’ Other teams looked at him, didn’t like him, so we pass on the guy. He’s 34 now?
“I guess my answer is, you never know. I thought I knew with Pena.”
The Tampa Bay Rays signed Pena on Jan. 29 in 2007 -- not the time of year in-demand free agents sign.
The next three seasons, Pena went on to average 38 homers, 108 RBIs and an OPS of .934 and is in the final year of a three-year $24.125-million US deal.
“Point of the story? When I saw Pena I saw swings and misses. When I see Ortiz, I see swings and I see contact,” the scout said.
Lowell pinch hit for Ortiz against Texas Rangers lefty Darren Oliver last week and Ortiz termed it “embarrassing.”
“I’m OK,” Ortiz said before Wednesday’s series finale against the Jays. Still, it was strange sight. Tie game. Bases loaded. Eighth inning.
Ortiz, given a plaque by the management team of John W. Henry, Phil Morse and Larry Lucchino, which read ...
“David Ortiz #34 The Greatest Clutch Hitter in the History of the Boston Red Sox.”
And now he was called back to the dugout. Was there an expiry date on the plaque? As in “until 2010?” Headed to the plate was Lowell, the same Lowell traded in the off-season to the Rangers, but returned to Boston after the Rangers didn’t like his physical.
“I remember my first game here, it was in 1998 when I was with Minnesota. I think Chris Carpenter pitched,” Ortiz said. “There were more fans back then.”
The Twins opened that season at the SkyDome with Roger Clemens pitching a 3-2 win for the Jays. Paul Molitor was the DH for the Twins that night.
The next night Ortiz hit clean-up, played first and singled off Pat Hentgen. And after Molitor hit a three-run triple off Kelvim Escobar, Twins manager Tom Kelly pinch hit the redoubtable Alex Ochoa for Ortiz.
After the 2002 season, the Twins released Ortiz, one of the few blemishes on the borderline Hall of Fame career of general manager Terry Ryan. With the Sox, Ortiz’s persona grew larger than life.
He has 12 walk-off homers on his resume, including two in the 2004 post-season -- one against the Anaheim Angels and another against the Yanks, when Boston was down 3-0 in the ALCS.
Ortiz has a .432 career average (22-for-51) with 10 homers, 51 RBIs and a 1.547 OPS.
But the Red Sox live in the here and now, and now Ortiz is hitting .154 with one homer and four RBIs.
Knowing Ortiz, we expect to see him in the lineup when Boston returns to the Rogers Centre for a series July 9-11.