- Commissioner’s statement on Ventura, Marte
- Ronnie O’Sullivan: Masters champion ‘felt so vulnerable’ in final
- Arron Fletcher Wins 2017 WSOP International Circuit Marrakech Main Event ($140,224)
- Smith challenges Warner to go big in India
- Moncada No. 1 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- Braves land 2 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- Kingery makes MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- New Zealand wrap up 2-0 after Bangladesh implosion
- Mathews, Pradeep, Gunathilaka to return to Sri Lanka
- Elliott hopes for rain for Poli
Big Papi’s legacy defined by big-time wins
- Updated: October 3, 2016
BOSTON — In the end, it’s all about winning. And that’s the inscription carved into Big Papi’s legacy. David Ortiz is simply a larger-than-life figure, but he will be remembered most for not only lifting Boston’s World Series curse in 2004, but for winning it all again in ’07 and ’13.
The three trophies were on the field Sunday during a 40-minute pregame ceremony in honor of Papi’s last regular-season game at Fenway Park, along with a number of the guys who played with Ortiz on those teams.
“You’re not going to have the visibility without the winning,” Red Sox manager John Farrell said before Boston dropped a 2-1 decision to the Blue Jays. “When we don’t win, we know what happens.”
The Red Sox have had some great and adored Hall of Fame players in their history — Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski and Jim Rice — to name a few. And next year, Ortiz will have his soon-to-be retired No. 34 hanging in the rafters above the seats in the right-field corner along with that trio and six others.
• Red Sox to retire Papi’s No. 34 next year
But none of them did what Papi has accomplished — bring a World Series title to Boston. That alone, along with his substantial career numbers, should land Ortiz in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Game Date Time Matchup TV Gm 1 Oct. 6 TBD BOS @ CLE TBS Gm 2 Oct. 7 TBD BOS @ CLE TBS Gm 3 Oct. 9 TBD CLE @ BOS TBS *Gm 4 Oct. 10 TBD CLE @ BOS TBS *Gm 5 Oct. 12 TBD BOS @ CLE TBS *- If necessaryShop for postseason gear: Red Sox | Indians • Complete Postseason coverage
“Times are different,” Ortiz responded when told that Farrell and owner John Henry said he was more significant to the Red Sox than any other player. “Ted Williams went to war. He was a superhero who protected all of us and came back and raked. I’m always going to respect that.”
Like Williams, Ortiz now has a bridge and a highway named after him, and Papi said he plans to drive back and forth over that bridge a few times “just to see what it feels like.”
That’s what Big Papi is all about.
“I think anytime you have bridges and roads named after you, you obviously have one heck of …
