Most 9-year-old boys would be thrilled to spend a birthday at the ballpark, and when you’re David Ortiz‘ son, the celebration is anything but ordinary.
During the team’s game against the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday, the Red Sox’ designated hitter brought a cake from the dugout to his son, D’Angelo, in the stands, according to Peter Abraham. D’Angelo turns 9 on Wednesday.
Aside from his sweet tooth being satisfied between the third and fourth innings, D’Angelo, who joined the team in Anaheim and Seattle, took batting practice and participated in pregrame stretching. D’Angelo also managed to snag a gift from Shane Victorino — a shirt from his locker.
He not only saw his old man tie the all-time record for most hits by a designated hitter, D’Angelo even saw him steal a base.
Ortiz reached on a single in the eighth and then took off for second on Mike Napoli‘s strikeout. The stolen base is Ortiz’ third of the season, tying his career high and putting him at fourth on the team in the category.
Even though the steal helped cushion Boston’s lead late in the game, Ortiz had other motives — namely his son — in mind when he took off.
“Why do you think I stole that base?” Ortiz said. “I wanted to show him I was still fast.”
