David Ortiz returning to Fenway Park was an incredibly touching moment for the Boston Red Sox legend, his former teammates and fans. The retired slugger made his first public appearance, throwing out the first pitch on Monday night.
But, the whole thing took place with a speculative cloud hanging over it.
Many accused the Red Sox of bringing in Ortiz to throw out the first pitch before the series finale against the New York Yankees to help distract from news that the team had parted way with the now-former president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski.
On Tuesday, Red Sox CEO Sam Kennedy joined WEEI’s “Ordway, Merloni and Fauria,” to explain why no press conference was held after Dombrowski’s departure and to clarify why Ortiz threw out the first pitch on Monday.
“I understand that it may be seen as a distraction,” Kennedy said, “… the reason it happened last night was because David Ortiz wanted it to happen.”
Well, that should settle that.
