Everyone seems to have a David Ortiz story.
Whether it’s a firsthand interaction with the Red Sox legend, or simply a memory of him doing damage on the diamond, Big Papi long has been a popular figure in Boston and across Major League Baseball. His recent Hall of Fame selection is well deserved.
Brian Bannister, a former MLB hurler now working as the director of pitching for the San Francisco Giants, spent several seasons with the Red Sox organization, most notably as Boston’s assistant pitching coach. His first season on the Red Sox’s major league coaching staff in 2016 overlapped with Ortiz’s farewell tour, during which the slugger posted huge numbers at age 40 and provided an amazing moment Bannister never will forget.
Bannister took to Twitter last week — after Ortiz learned he was headed to Cooperstown — to share his “favorite” Big Papi story. To say it’s legendary would be an understatement.
Basically, as Bannister explains in the following Twitter thread, Ortiz often would sit on a nearby couch in the Red Sox clubhouse in between plate appearances. And one day, while talking to someone on the phone, Ortiz said, “Hold on a sec. I have to go hit.”
Ortiz didn’t hang up the phone, according to Bannister. Instead, Ortiz put it down on the couch, left the clubhouse, went onto the field, dug into the batter’s box and launched a home run, only to return and resume the phone call moments later.
Here’s the full story:
Ortiz earned 10 All-Star selections, won three World Series titles and cemented himself as arguably the best designated hitter in MLB history. But stories like this truly reflect the uniqueness of David Ortiz.
