I am going to list a few facts about David Ortiz.
- He came up to the Major Leagues in 1997.
- Between 1997 and 2002 he was an adequate yet oft injured part time DH/1B for the Minnesota Twins.
- In 2002, his sixth season, a 26 year old David Ortiz set a new career high with 20 homers as the Twins made the ALCS.
- After the 2002 season, the Twins declined to offer him a contract.
- He signed with Boston in 2003 and struggled at the plate, batting .208 with 1 homer and an OPS of .657 on May 13.
- Suddenly, the oft injured and struggling hitter exploded with numbers that dwarfed his best seasons in Minnesota.
His previous career high in home runs was 20.
He hit 31 in 2003.
His previous career high in RBI was 75.
He drove in 101 in 2003.
His previous high in OPS was .839.
His OPS in 2003 was .961.
And he reached all of those new highs in only 3 more games than his previous season.
- He exploded into one of the most dominating offensive forces over the next four seasons.
- His physique was terrifying.
- The era was best described by Alex Rodriguez as "Loosey Goosey."
- Steroid use can lead to heart issues.
- Ortiz developed heart problems in 2006.
- His injuries increased and his bat speed decreased when testing became more frequent in the wake of the Mitchell Report.
- In 2009 he has as many home runs as Dr. Maya Angelou.
- He was great friends with Manny Ramirez.
- Manny Ramirez is serving a suspension for testing positive for a banned substance that is commonly used to help people coming off of a steroid cycle.
- Ortiz has made several strange "hedge your bet" statements about steroid use, including yesterday when he said:
“It’s a little confusing, because there are guys out there taking things that sometimes you can buy it over the counter, and sometimes it’s banned and not on the list, I don’t know,” said Ortiz. “I don’t really know, but like I say, you definitely have to be careful.”
All I've done is list some facts.
I am not accusing anyone of anything.
I love David Ortiz and the wonderful memories he has given all of us Red Sox fans.
Just have your guard up.
Those are some interesting facts in cronological order. One could easily think there is a connection to steroids. just about every big name statistic guy has already been named.
ReplyDeleteYou may have a point Sully. Even as a Yankee fan, I like Ortiz and I'm hoping that your statements are wrong.
ReplyDeleteAdd me as a Yankee fan who hope he never used and does not have severe Health Problems.
ReplyDeleteobvious juicer
ReplyDeleteSully- You are very unbias when it comes to Sox/Yanks talk and enjoy your comments on the am New York Sports blog.As a Yankee fan i do have feelings on this but i hope it isn't true about
ReplyDeletebig papi.
SullyLV.
Yup. Sad to say it, but "he lika da juice".
ReplyDeleteAs a Giants fan, I've had to come to terms not only with Bonds, and all the others named from the 2002 season, but favorites not yet named, like Jason Schmidt...
Hmm, average Pirates starter with 93 mph fastball and arm trouble, comes to the Giants and the Bay Area of BALCO fame, all of a sudden throwing 99, no arm trouble, perennial Cy Young candidate, with facial acne. Then, testing began... and Jason Schmidt hasn't pitched in two years, even though he's still technically on IR.
These "do the math" ones have to be acknowledged, even if it's painful.
Schmidt threw 93-97 in Pittsburgh. Was also the Atlanta Braves #1 pitching prospect prior to Pittsburgh trade. Had minor shoulder surgery in 2000. A pitchers prime is 29-31 his SF years. Went from worst team in MLB to pitcher friendly Oracle Park and 1st place Giants. No facial acne. Many pitchers have flourished in SF since.
DeleteAs a Twins fan, after hearing all of the talk about how stupid they were to let Ortiz go, I am happy about this. We knew he wasn't as good as the numbers he was putting up in Boston. You are now seeing the no-defense, no-run, swinging wildly Ortiz we remember.
ReplyDeleteYou are an idiot for that statment
DeleteWow, what are the winning powerball numbers for this weekends drawing?
ReplyDeleteSeriously, I knew it couldn't all be hotdogs and donuts doing it for Ortiz but why oh why did we have to find out?
I hate to think that he felt the need to roid up because of the tough competition from the likes of Jeremy Giambi....
D.E.
Hello my friend, i think that your post is ok i love sports but you should add some images like:
ReplyDeleteInvertir en oro