BOSTON — David Ortiz entered Tuesday with more doubles this season than any other player in Major League Baseball. And while that’s been a great boost for the Red Sox’s offense, it might not be the best thing for the 40-year-old slugger’s body.
Ortiz has dealt with nagging foot pain throughout what he’s said will be his final major league season, and Red Sox manager John Farrell, who gave the designated hitter the night off Tuesday, said having to leg out 29 doubles — and one triple — hasn’t helped matters.
“The heel and the feet, those are real situations that he’s managing, and he’s putting forth every effort with the training staff to get him ready to keep him on the field,” Farrell said before Tuesday’s game against the Chicago White Sox at Fenway Park. “We also monitor the number of times he’s been on base — and particularly the doubles.
“The number of doubles he’s hit this year (is) probably 40 percent higher than last year. When he hits the ball out of the ballpark, he’s going to jog. Base hit, he’s probably going to go easy. It’s the home to second or first to third — that’s where it really starts to pile up on David.”
Even at his age, Ortiz remains one of Boston’s most feared hitters, and the Red Sox are taking measures to ensure he receives the rest his body needs. For instance, Farrell said he does not plan to play Ortiz at first base in any of the team’s six remaining visits to National League ballparks and is “always touching base with him in the middle innings to see how he’s feeling.”
There’s also the matter of the added media attention Ortiz has attracted since announcing his retirement before the season — a decision he now says he regrets.
“Going back to spring training, we set out to try to do what we could to help control it for him,” Farrell said. “David is a highly sought-after person, personality. So I think just by nature, some of that is going to be more prevalent with him than anybody else.
“He’s really the one that can speak to his daily routine, but as far as the way he’s going about being a teammate, a performer, I have not seen any distractions whatsoever. He’s done, I think, a great job of maintaining a balance and being ready to go each and every game.”
Thumbnail photo via Greg M. Cooper/USA TODAY Sports Images
