For the first month of the season, he looked as lost in the batter's box as he did last spring. He hit .143, collecting just six extra-base hits in 56 at-bats. It was tied for his lowest batting average in a single month in his Red Sox career, and it was easy to start taking shots at the 34-year-old, who (in his own words) was being treated like he was 80. After just two hitless games this season, Ortiz faced questions of whether his struggles from 2009 were simply continuing in 2010.
While most people panicked and called for Ortiz's removal from the lineup, Terry Francona reminded everyone that the big picture needed to stay in focus. And it's a good thing he did.
Since the calendar turned from April to May, Ortiz has been as hot as ever. Following Wednesday's win, when he hit the two-run homer that gave the Red Sox their first lead of the night, Ortiz's May numbers resemble those of the Ortiz from 2003-07. In 14 games, he's hitting .358 with seven homers and 17 RBIs, and he's already nearly doubled his runs scored from the entire month of April (five in 16 April games, nine in 14 May games).
It's no doubt giving Ortiz quite a bit to finally feel good about.
"There are a lot of people who think they know a lot about baseball," David Ortiz told reporters last Friday, shortly after hitting one of the longest home runs in Comerica Park history. "They seem to think the season ends in April. It doesn't. It ends in October."
If Ortiz's hot streak continues, October will become more and more of a possibility. Wednesday's bomb was his fourth in the last six games, and he's hit safely in 10 of his last 11 contests. He also moved up the all-time list, as he's now tied for 96th with 325 career long balls. Oh, and there's this — on May 20 one year ago, Ortiz hit his first home run of the season.
What's perhaps more encouraging for Ortiz is that his seven homers in May match his high from any month of last season (he hit seven in June, July and August), and there are still 10 games remaining in the month. That's a fact that can't be underestimated, because his 27 homers from June through the end of the season last year were tied for the most in the AL in that span. If he can better that pace this year, we could be talking 40 at the end of the season instead of 30.
That's obviously diving a bit too far in the future to predict at the moment, but it's representative of the positivity that Ortiz has created this month. It was evident even in the out he made in his final at-bat on Wednesday, when he flew out to left field with two outs and runners on the corners. As much as anyone, Ortiz wears his emotions on his sleeve, and during his slumps, you can almost see the confidence drained from his face.
Yet as the cameras caught Ortiz after his flyout Wednesday night, he had a look that said, "I just missed it. I can get it next time."
For Ortiz, the Red Sox and the fans, there's now good reason to believe he will.
