BOSTON — When David Ortiz says he’s going to do something, he does it.
The Red Sox designated hitter smacked a go-ahead two-run homer onto the Green Monster in the eighth inning of Friday’s 4-2 win over the New York Yankees, and it turns out Ortiz made good on a promise in the process.
Former Red Sox first baseman Kevin Millar had told Big Papi before the game about a boy named Maverick, who was born with a heart defect and “battles for his life daily.” Maverick happens to be a huge fan of Ortiz, so Millar and the slugger sent Maverick a video before the game, and Ortiz promised to hit a home run for him
“It was very touching, and I started thinking about it right after,” Ortiz said Saturday before the Red Sox’s game against the Yankees. “When I got home that was when I really was like, wow, I can’t believe this really happened. It is what it is, and Millar told me that his parents haven’t seen him that happy in a long time.”
Ortiz said this actually was the third time he came through on a home run promise for a child. The first time was for a sick young girl, and the second was for one of Millar’s kids after the former first baseman said they were going to leave the game early.
But Ortiz said he never necessarily expects it to happen. He just goes out and plays.
“What you’re trying to do, with that video, what I was trying to do was make him, Maverick, feel happy, have that connection with him,” Ortiz said. “And you throw that out there just to make sure that he has a friend that he can count on right here. But then it happens.”
Ortiz said he realized what he did after he crossed home plate and saw Millar’s kids, prompting the bear hug he gave them in the dugout. But Big Papi joked it’s not something he wants to take lightly.
“Last night was the first time I ever realized that the three times that I have done this, it happened,” Ortiz said. “But I don’t want to be overdoing it. You’re going to have kids all over the place, ‘What’s going on? You haven’t hit a homer in the past 20 games. You promised me one, like, two weeks ago.'”
Still, the reaction Ortiz got back from Maverick was worth it.
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
