It might have been the single greatest stroke of luck in Boston sports history.
For Minnesota Twins general manager Terry Ryan, however, releasing David Ortiz 14 years ago is a nightmare he’s embracing.
“There’s no hiding that one,” Ryan told Twins.com’s Rhett Bollinger recently. “You can put that one in there and lock it down. I’m not running from it. I’m proud of what he’s done. Obviously, it was a mistake. The guy has been a great representation of the Boston Red Sox and Major League Baseball for a long time. And it’s Boston’s gain and Minnesota’s loss. And I take full responsibility.”
Though Ortiz’s struggles through the first six years of his MLB tenure in Minnesota certainly didn’t give indication of what he would become in Boston, 445 home runs, nine All-Star appearances and three World Series titles are enough evidence to allow some second-guessing.
“There wasn’t any one thing,” Ryan explained, when asked why the team let Ortiz go. “If you look at his numbers across the board, they were very respectable. And not that it was totally about money, but we were a little bit strapped. That would be a good excuse, but it wasn’t that entirely. It was just a bad error in judgment of a guy’s talent. How about a mistake?”
That’s one Big Papi-sized mistake.
Thumbnail photo via Ken Blaze/USA TODAY Sports Images
