Tigers heap praise on retiring Red Sox slugger David Ortiz

3:16 PM ET

BOSTON — Detroit Tigers catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia hasn’t always had to cringe every time David Ortiz strode to the plate. Saltalamacchia played with Big Papi for more than three seasons when he was with the Boston Red Sox. And the prolific hitter helped his team beyond what his batting average or slugging percentage could ever reveal.

Saltalamacchia remembers getting off to an awful start in his first full season with the team, 2011, and brooding over it on a plane ride in the first couple of weeks. Unprompted, the hulking slugger ambled over to Saltalamacchia and took a seat next to him, where he provided some impactful advice.

“He came right down and sat next to me and said: ‘You’re a good hitter. You’re going to be a really good hitter, so don’t worry about all the bulls—, just keep doing your thing,'” Saltalamacchia told ESPN.com. “He taught me a bunch of little things that him and Manny [Ramirez] used to talk about that helped him, and all of a sudden, I just started hitting. Just knowing that he’s got my back and that his confidence is through for roof for me, it helped my confidence.”

Saltalamacchia went on to hit 16 home runs in that 2011 season — he’d record a career-high 25 in 2012 — and never forgot the boost that his teammate gave him. It was just one of many things that stands out to him as he reflects on what an illustrious career Ortiz has had and what he has meant to Boston.

“He’s King Kong. He could …

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