This is 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.
Tony Massarotti wouldn’t have been surprised if David Ortiz backslid a little bit during the 2005 season.
It would have been natural, Massarotti reasoned, for Ortiz to “rest on his laurels” after reaching astronomical heights while leading the Boston Red Sox to their first World Series title in 86 years the October before.
But Ortiz did the opposite, and just kept ascending.
While Ortiz put together one of his best seasons in 2005 by hitting .300 with 47 home runs and a league-leading 148 RBIs, Massarotti, who covered the Red Sox at the time for the Boston Herald, remembers Ortiz continuing his flair for the dramatic.
Massarotti vividly recalls a mid-August game between the Red Sox and Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park when Ortiz delivered a game-tying solo home run in the top of the ninth off Fernando Rodney. An inning later, Ortiz sent another pitch over the wall for three runs to pad Boston’s lead.
And even though the stage wasn’t nearly as big as it was during his postseason heroics, coming through in the clutch no matter the situation is a defining part of Ortiz’s Hall of Fame career.
“They were just ordinary regular-season games,” Massarotti said. “But they were just indicative of the kind of heroics that he was performing routinely. We all remember the ones in the playoffs … he’s had so many of them, but the ones in the regular season often time get overlooked or forgotten. In a year like 2005, they needed every single hit he gave them. They really did.”
A month later, Massarotti, who is on the popular “Felger & Mazz” radio show on 98.5 The Sports Hub and serves as a color commentator at times on NESN’s Red Sox broadcast, saw Ortiz rise to the occasion again, this time in Toronto. Ortiz broke a 5-5 deadlock in the top of the 11th with a solo blast off Pete Walker to lead the Red Sox to a win.
“That is when I started sort of writing and feeling that this guy is the MVP of the league,” Massarotti said. “He’s just carrying the team. A DH has never been an MVP, not a true DH, and it was time to change that.”
Ortiz placed second in American League MVP voting that year, finishing just behind Alex Rodriguez.
With Ortiz repeatedly producing in big-time situations with those home runs, Massarotti told the left-handed slugger that he should write a book. The two eventually teamed up to do so, providing Massarotti more memories, like traveling to where Ortiz grew up in the Dominican Republic.
While Ortiz went on to create more legendary moments on the field, it’s those round-trippers during a sensational 2005 season that will continue to stick out for Massarotti.
“By that point it occurred to me that he was like this force of nature,” Massarotti said.
