David Ortiz has become synonymous with the Boston Red Sox, World Series championships and late inning heroics all the way up from third base to Huntington. Bill Simmons, The Sportsguy, recently wrote an article about Big Papi and how likely it is that his career has come to an end. Bill Simmons was my inspiration to start SportsFan4 (as you can tell from the name) and I read his articles every chance I get.
We’ve seen players as beloved as Ortiz fall off before. He’s declined so much this year that it hurts to watch him play, just as much as it would have hurt to see him leave. Earlier this year, Curt Schilling retired from the Boston Red Sox, but that didn’t hurt nearly as much as it does watching Ortiz slowly fall apart at the plate with the rest of the 2009 season ahead of us. Bill Simmons speaks from the heart about Big Papi and it is obvious that he feels just like I do when it comes to letting go of a player that has done so much for a city and it’s fans over a five year span.
Did Big Papi Juice?
In Bill Simmons’ article about David Ortiz, The Sportsguy really hit home in a few areas, but I also disagreed with him in others. Much like every other Bostonian, Simmons also heard the rumors:
The steroid whispers started quickly. By late April, every conversation I had with a Sox fan seemed to include a “We need to mail Papi some HGH” joke. It was an easy leap for a couple of reasons: First, his power numbers leapt like Obama’s Q rating from 2003 to 2007. Second, he’s Dominican, and more than a few of his brethren — Sammy Sosa, Miguel Tejada, Guillermo Mota — have been in the center of PED controversies. Third, they sell steroids over the counter in the DR like they’re Bubblicious. And fourth, baseball has reached a depressing point in which power hitters are presumed guilty until proven innocent.
Simmons goes on to say that he feels David Ortiz was not a cheater and did not use performance enhancing drugs. The Sportsguy’s opinion was that, “Maybe Papi was older than he claimed”. It kills me inside more than anything in the world to say this, but I disagree with Bill Simmons on his first point. Although there is no substantial evidence, or any evidence at all, that David Ortiz has ever used PED’s I have a gut feeling that he did.
Look at the career that David Ortiz had all the way back to Minnesota. He transformed into the best power hitter in the game after he came to Boston and now has suddenly declined at the plate. He is displaying all of the signs and symptoms of other players that have used PED’s. In his six years with the Minnesota Twins, David Ortiz hit a total of 56 home runs in 455 games. After arriving in Boston, Big Papi hit 72 home runs in his first two seasons (178 games) with the Red Sox. From 2003-2006, Ortiz’s home run numbers continued to increase every year, 31,41,47 and then 54 all during the steroid era of baseball. It hurts to have these thoughts about the man that played such a big role in ending the curse and winning the Red Sox two World Series championships, but I have no alternative to go to about his drastic drop in power numbers.
Keeping The Faith
Where I agree with Bill Simmons is later in his article where he talks about the fan loyalty that David Ortiz has accrued over the past seven years in Boston.
It’s been a sports experience unlike anything I can remember. Red Sox fans refuse to turn against Ortiz. They just can’t. They owe him too much for 2004 and 2007. It’s like turning on Santa Claus or happy hour. Every Ortiz appearance is greeted with supportive cheers, every Ortiz failure is greeted with awkward silence. The fans are suffering just like he is. I cannot remember another Boston athlete stinking this long, and this fragrantly, without getting dumped on.
David Ortiz was the catalyst in the 2004 comeback against the New York Yankees after being down 0-3 in the ALCS. No team had ever come back to win a series after being down three games. With the faith of Big Papi giving all of Fenway’s faithful a reason to Believe, the Red Sox went on to sweep the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2004 World Series. On top of that, Boston went to the World Series again in 2007 and swept Colorado, all on the broad shoulders of David Ortiz. Whether Ortiz was using PED’s or not during any of his seasons with the Red Sox, it would all be forgiven by myself and many others who wouldn’t care if he did, simply because our prayers were answered by this angel of a man with the biggest smile in baseball.
Nagging Injury
I do believe that age and possible past use of performance enhancing drugs are two major factors in Big Papi’s recent decline, but something that Bill Simmons did not mention is David’s injured wrist from the 2008 season. Last year Ortiz missed 45 games (June 1-July 23) due to an injury involving a tendon sheath in his wrist and since his return has only hit 11 total home runs going back to July 27, 2008 against the Yankees. For a guy who can hit 11 home runs in one month of the season, only hitting 11 in a matter of five months of baseball after returning from that injury shows that it played a major role in his lack of power. A reader, Jason Thomas, asked me what I thought about Big Papi’s slump and my response to his e-mail was:
I think it’s because of his wrist and not taking care of it properly last season with enough rehab and off time. In the back of my mind i think about the possible steroid aspect of it, but I won’t believe that he used steroids until the proof is out there. I have my thoughts on it, but I never injected him with anything and never heard from anyone else who did either.
We are getting ridiculous with all the accusations and I even did for a bit myself, but now I’m at the point where I say they aren’t using any type of PED’s until the proof is on the table, although I still desire to have my own judgements on players and the use of PED’s.
Although I state that players are rightfully innocent until proven guilty, this is one of those times where my judgment outweighs waiting around to see if David Ortiz ever tests positive for PED’s. With David Ortiz now batting sixth in the order, Bill Simmons summed things up in the exact way that I feel by saying:
Barring a miraculous return of bat speed, he’ll be benched or released soon. It’ll hurt, and I’m going to feel bad. I already do.
No matter what the outcome is when all is said and done between David Ortiz and the Boston Red Sox, Big Papi will go down in my book of history as an MVP, a Hall of Fame inductee and one of the best pure hitters in the game with a great big happy smile. Whether he did or did not use performance enhancing drugs means nothing to me, David Ortiz is a hero in Boston and I will forever be gracious to him for bringing home two World Series Championships while making baseball important and worth while for this Red Sox fan again.
I think you’re right about his wrist being a lingering problem. Remember Nomar, he had the same injury and was never the same again. And for a sport that involves quick movemnets of the wrist it is hard to contend if you can’t fully perform.
Maybe there’s some confidence issues too because he has that injury and maybe the pain is still there and he’s trying to work through it.
Maybe he is really 40 and we don’t know. Anything is possible.
“No matter what the outcome is when all is said and done between David Ortiz and the Boston Red Sox, Big Papi will go down in my book of history as an MVP”
Hmm.. why, because he’s a Red Sox player? You said the opposite about A-Rod. You said nobody who’s found out (in terms of using) should be called an MVP.Just pointing that out Gansie. What side of the fence are you on? If you used, you were a cheater. Point blank.
I’m on the home side of the fence. I am biased because of what Big Papi did for the Red Sox, but that’s just the thing, it was personal, he won two world series for us. A-Roid never did anything for me!
I hate myself for being biased but I can’t help it, I love Big Papi for everything he did no matter what. I want to hug the man!
I’m on the Sox side of the fence too and you make a valid point that his performance decline matches that of other PED users, but I just can’t or won’t consider that Big Papi used anything illegal or banned unless I see proof. I’m OK if everyone else on that team used some form of steroids, but please not Big Papi!
I want to hug the man too! His clutch home runs evoked the spirit of Babe Ruth and crushed the curse and for that he’ll always be seen as a hero here in Boston. Hopefully that legacy remains clean.
understandable.. but if he cheated, he was a huge product of PED use.. Someone like Ortiz was a .270 hitter before he got here with gap power and maybe 20 HR’s a year if he could stay healthy. Someone like A-Rod or Barry Bonds were great, great players to begin with. All the tools and they just needed more out of greed. I’m still holding out judgment on him. I’m of the belief it is his wrist injury and flat out age that is hurting him most. But like you said, there are major red flags when it comes to his situation.
What changed my opinion on things was a second Bill Simmons article that I read.
At first I stated in a comment to Chuck’s article that I didn’t think Ortiz juiced. After further reading I couldn’t help but feel that he did.
My ever changing opinion helps describe why I’m the John Kerry of sports blogging.
regardless guys; it looks like it’s time to move on from Big Papi.. If it comes out that he was on them and as we already know, Manny was on something, it will suck for Red Sox fans and the 2004 and 2007 titles. An outright release might be in Big Papi’s future unless someone wants to gamble on him and trade with Theo. I want Victor Martinez here pronto! He would cement World Series number 3 in the 2000′s for us. The pitching is already in place.
Victor Martinez would be helpful to our team, as well as Adam Dunn who hits bombs like Ortiz used to.
Don’t think the Sox will just release Big Papi. Not without sending him down to Pawtucket first to try to re-invigorate him. An outright release would be terrible for Red Sox PR. Red Sox nation would be howling forever about it. Big Papi is still a legend in this town. One bad season won’t change that.
I agree Adam, I don’t see an outright release in the midst either, but if he doesn’t turn things around, I do see a small market team trading for him in order to take a chance and try to boost their jersey and ticket sales.
But what do you give up for a player that, as of now can’t hit, can’t run and can’t field(very well)?? Even for a small market team giving up anything short of the exact same type of player is risky. He’s not a prospect that has “potential” to become something down the line, he’s a salty veteran that has apparently peaked and is rolling downhill on his career faster than he hoped.
I’d hate to see Ortiz go, he has done so much for this franchise and for us fans, and I hope he finds his swing again, but Theo isn’t against moving “big name” players that aren’t helping the team. (although I think this one might be more difficult move for him to make)
I’m not sure Matt, I guess I just have high hopes that a team like Pittsburgh, Kansas City or Oakland would be interested in the income from jerseys and tickets, but even the majority of NL small market teams probably wouldn’t want him due to the fielding aspect, you’re right about that.
Right, but moving Nomar and others helped the Sox. I don’t see the Sox getting much back for Ortiz right now and it would be pointless to just outright release him when we could send him down to Pawtucket and hope he gets his swing back.
In the end, baseball is a business and Big Papi still puts people in the seats, even today.
[...] new addition to our blog network brings us the ever-changing opinion of Josh Gans on David Ortiz. He’s evolved his opinion from thinking David Ortiz did not use performance enhancing drugs, [...]
Ortiz and Manny are both apparently on the 2003 list. Apparently Ortiz was not as clean as we might have thought. Ugh!
Weird how that happened right? I still love Big Papi, he’s still a hero and I don’t hold anything against him for it. My views on PED use changed dramatically after reading Jose Canseco’s two books.
Some people will believe anything….lets call a spade a spade. Ortiz is a cheater and lier. Finally proven what every competent person could see….he used steroids!
It was obvious while he was slumping at the beginning of the season that PED use had something to do with it. I can see your strong opinion of the “cheater and liar” stance, where I once was myself. However, I’ve taken the leap to the other end of the spectrum and now feel that there were so many players using PED’s that it’s no longer that type of an issue for me. Many did use, and now it’s time to move on while hopefully making baseball a “clean” game again.
Every era has had some type of drug use, hence why this will forever be known as the steroid era. Even if steroids are removed from the game, something else will step in for the next era.
[...] As Josh Gans so eloquently described Big Papi: [...]