David Ortiz Memories: Kevin Youkilis Recalls Response To Adversity

This is a part of a series in which NESN personalities share their favorite memory of David Ortiz as they had an up-close view of his career either as a teammate or a member of the media. You can find all of NESN.com’s coverage as Ortiz goes into the Hall of Fame here.

Being a teammate of David Ortiz, former Boston Red Sox infielder Kevin Youkilis saw not only the highs, but also the lows the soon-to-be Hall of Famer endured.

While Youkilis fondly remembers the plentiful great moments Ortiz produced during their eight-plus seasons together on the Red Sox, he also watched Big Papi go through struggles at the plate, and he was impressed with the way Ortiz found his way out of those tough times.

The perfect example of that comes from the 2009 campaign when Ortiz hit .143 in May and had only one home run through the first two months of the season. While Youkilis had seen “some guys crumble after they go through that really rough patch,” that wasn’t in Ortiz’s DNA.

Youkilis witnessed the legendary slugger pull out of the slump — he finished that season with 28 homers and 99 RBIs — and admired how Ortiz responded when faced with an adverse situation.

“Seeing him at that bottom point and how he got himself out of it, I think to me that was one of the remarkable things,” Youkilis said. “It’s easy to talk about all the great things. It’s more important for a lot of people that look at David Ortiz and all the great things he’s done to know that he went through a really tough spell where he wasn’t hitting well, and how he made the adjustments, went through the tough times, got booed and had that struggle and how he got himself out of that.”

Even with Ortiz’s greatness as a hitter, Youkilis said there wasn’t an overnight remedy to aid the scuffling left-handed power hitter in 2009. Instead, Youkilis watched Ortiz grind through it, putting the extra work in the batting cage and going to the opposite field until he fully returned to form.

And for Youkilis, who is now an analyst for NESN on Red Sox broadcasts, that is why Ortiz has a spot in Cooperstown.

“I think for me how he picked himself up — and he was in a tough place mentally,” Youkilis said. “And he got himself out of that tough place to become the great player that he made himself early on and throughout the rest of his career. That to me personifies why he’s a Hall of Famer.”

Youkilis believes those moments when Ortiz fought through the adversity to become the player everyone knows is incredibly important because there’s a lesson to be learned.

“That was the most impactful thing because it resonates with everyone in life,” Youkilis said. “You’re going to go through tough times and it’s how you pick yourself up out of it and get back to doing great things again.”