It’s not easy for Jon Lester to pinpoint one moment as his favorite from the time he played alongside David Oritz with the Boston Red Sox.
The two All-Stars got reacquainted this week in San Diego at the MLB All-Star Game, and reporters obviously quizzed Lester about his time with Ortiz, who is retiring at season’s end.
Lester, who played with Ortiz in Boston from 2006 through 2014, admitted there were almost too many favorite memories to choose from, but he did share one awesome story about one of the most clutch hitters in baseball history.
“I think the coolest one that I saw was Game 2 of the ALCS against the Tigers,” Lester said earlier this week, per SB Nation. “(Ortiz) came in all dressed up, and we weren’t leaving until the next day. (Dustin) Pedroia was giving him crap. He was like, ‘David, you stupid idiot, we’re not leaving until tomorrow. Today’s not a travel day.’ ”
“He goes, ‘I know, Pedey,’ ” Lester continued. “‘I wore this for my press conference afterwards.’ He’s like, ‘I’m gonna do something special tonight. I need to be ready for my press conference.’ ”
And then this happened:
“Being David, he ends up hitting the game-tying grand slam, and we ended up winning that game,” Lester said. “If we don’t win that game, it puts us in a bad, bad spot for that series.”
The Red Sox, of course, ultimately won the series in six games, then went on to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series, the second of two championships Ortiz and Lester won as teammates in Boston.
Lester also posted this photo to Twitter, showing his relationship with the Red Sox designated hitter goes beyond the diamond:
Thumbnail photo via Rob Grabowski/USA TODAY Sports Images
