David Ortiz and the Boston Red Sox found themselves in a less-than-desirable position against the New York Yankees in the 2004 American League Championship Series.
But thanks to a little motivation from Kevin Millar, the Red Sox persisted.
By now you probably know the story: Boston was down 3-0 in the series to New York before doing the near-impossible and winning the next four to punch its ticket to the World Series — and win the Fall Classic for the first time in 86 years.
Millar famously said, “Don’t let us win tonight,” prior to that Game 4, but Ortiz revealed the energy the former first baseman had went far beyond just that one saying.
“He was screaming all the way across the field down from first base, ‘This (expletive) is going down tonight,'” Ortiz told reporters at The Sports Museum’s “The Tradition” event, via Boston.com’s Tom Westerholm.
“I was like, ‘What is wrong with him?’ They let us win one, we whooping their ass.’ Like OK, whatever, but he was screaming. In the clubhouse, same thing. He was the real motivation.”
Unfortunately for the Red Sox, Millar couldn’t provide the same result when he attended Game 6 of the 2021 ALCS between Boston and the Houston Astros when the 5-0 loss ended the Red Sox’s season.
Still, it’s clear he made quite the impact on the fans and his former teammates in 2004.
