The rivalry between the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays went to another level on Sunday afternoon when David Ortiz gave a bat flip and took a slow trot around the bases following a three-run homer.
Rays pitcher Chris Archer served up the home run, and took exception to Ortiz’s bat flip in his postgame comments. His criticism of the Boston slugger went a step further on Monday when he said that he never saw Hall of Famer Hank Aaron flip his bat.
Archer’s teammate and Rays ace David Price, who has his own history with Ortiz going back to last year’s ALDS and earlier this season, weighed in on the latest Red Sox-Rays feud.
“[Archer] said what he needed to say,” Price said Monday, per David Adler of MLB.com. “He handled it extremely well — I wish I would have handled it that well.
“Everybody sees the same thing. Like Archer said, him and Big Papi’s conversations have been great. Same with me. Whenever you have conversations the way that [Ortiz] has them with people, you think he has respect for you. Doesn’t look that way.
“That’s how he is, though. If anything ever happens, he wants to be on everybody’s good side. That’s why he does what he does — and everybody knows that. We’re not worried about that.”
The Red Sox and Rays don’t play again until Aug. 29, which is the start of a four-game series at Tropicana Field. Let’s hope we get another Archer-Ortiz showdown.
