David Ortiz always has loved Boston, but he didn’t particularly enjoy his early time with the Red Sox.
Everyone knows about how the Red Sox took a flier on the designated hitter in 2003 after the Minnesota Twins released him. As the story goes, Red Sox ace Pedro Martinez made a recommendation, Boston ultimately signed the Dominican slugger, and the rest quite literally is history.
But what some people sometimes forget is that Ortiz wasn’t “Big Papi” from Day 1 in Boston. In fact, Ortiz struggled for playing time early in that 2003 season, with Kevin Millar receiving most of the starts at first base and Jeremy Giambi often being penciled in at DH.
Boston Magazine detailed Ortiz’s time with the Red Sox in an oral history about the retiring superstar, and the slugger apparently became so frustrated with his lack of playing time early on in Boston that he wanted to be traded.
“David was frustrated and pretty down, though he tried not to let it seep into the clubhouse,” former Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein said. “He sent (his agent) Fern Cuza to see me, and we chatted in the player parking lot at Fenway after a game. Cuza said that David loved it in Boston, but that not being in the lineup was driving him crazy. He said David wanted to be traded unless we could get him in the lineup every day. I told Fern to give me a week and we’d find a way to get David in the lineup.”
Ortiz, in a way, became even more frustrated after a thrilling 14-inning win over the Los Angeles Angels on April 27. Ortiz hit a pinch-hit, solo home run in the 14th inning. Still, Ortiz was in and out of the Red Sox’s lineup.
“We’re on the plane and Ortiz is like, ‘That’s it. I’m going to call my agent and I want to be traded,’ ” Millar recalled, per Boston Magazine. “Look, I was a guy who was always in the manager’s office. I led the league in it, because it’s up to you to protect your career. No one else is. So my whole thing was, ‘Walk in the front door and go in and ask.’ From that point on, he hit however many homers and had so many RBI, and Jeremy Giambi didn’t play much after that. So finally he put his foot down. He had that foundation of that home run. I remember this like it was yesterday. And David started turning into Big Papi.”
The Red Sox traded third baseman Shea Hillenbrand in late May, and it started to open the door for manager Grady Little to work Ortiz into the lineup. Giambi never started hitting — he had just 42 plate appearances the rest of the season — and Ortiz assumed the DH role. That has worked out pretty well for the Red Sox.
Click to read Boston Magazine’s oral history of David Ortiz >>
Thumbnail photo via David Richard/USA TODAY Sports Images
