David Ortiz Will Have a Better Start to 2011 Season As Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez Take Pressure Off Slugger

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Jan 10, 2011

David Ortiz Will Have a Better Start to 2011 Season As Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez Take Pressure Off Slugger Over the past two seasons, David Ortiz has received heavy criticism for his slow starts.

Last April, he posted a meager .143 batting average with only one home run and four RBIs.

April and May of 2009 were very similar, as Ortiz had a .185 batting average with only one home run and 18 RBIs.

This April, however, Big Papi will not be hampered by a slow start.

Ortiz’s performance out of the gates should be less of a focus point this season. Instead of scrutinizing the start of Ortiz’s season again, critics and fans will be keenly observing the new additions to the Red Sox’ line-up –- Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford.

Given that, Ortiz can enter the season with less pressure to jump off to a hot start. While everyone’s more focused on Gonzalez and Crawford, he can quietly find his groove and get off to a better start.
With the pressure of an immediate impact off his shoulders, Big Papi should be able to solely focus on his own production, rather than what everyone else thinks of it. This approach is far more suitable for the Red Sox slugger, since we saw what he thought of the criticism last May.

“When I’m going bad, it’s even worse because everybody looks to me to be the guy who comes through for this ballclub. It’s like I never sleep anymore.”

After his atrocious April slump last season, Ortiz went on a tear and posted a .286 batting average with 31 home runs and 98 RBIs. Big Papi was even named the American League Player of the Month in May.

Heading into 2011, Ortiz enters the final year of his contract. If the 35-year-old can provide a consistent season from start to finish, the Red Sox may not think twice about re-signing their beloved star.

Will the additions of Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez ease some pressure off David Ortiz this season? Or will he start out slow again? Share your thoughts below.

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