David Ortiz was a vital part of the 2013 World Series champion Boston Red Sox squad, not only for his contributions inside the batter’s box.
Yes, Ortiz batted .688 in the Fall Classic against the St. Louis Cardinals, becoming the greatest hitter on the planet in the best possible time. Yes, he blasted the clutch and forever iconic grand slam versus the Detroit Tigers in the American League Championship Series. However, before unleashing his inner “Big Papi,” Ortiz uplifted the city of Boston following one of its all-time darkest moments.
After the Boston Marathon bombing that took three lives — Martin Richard, Krystle Campbell and Lu Lingzi — and scarred many others, Ortiz took the field alongside Red Sox teammates on April 20, rallying the entire Fenway Park home crowd with a brief pregame speech.
“Right now, I can tell you, the feedback coming from the people worldwide from everywhere I go. I did something good and I’m pretty proud of it,” Ortiz said, according to Kevin Powtak of the Associated Press.
As the story goes, Ortiz’s energy didn’t only reach those of the city, but Boston’s clubhouse too.
The Red Sox were fresh off a bottom-of-the-barrel 69-93 finish in 2012. So with plenty of motivation already in place, Boston found the spark needed to return to its winning form. And needless to say, Ortiz pitched in his fair share with the bat, hitting .309 with 30 home runs and 103 RBIs in the regular season, then .353 with five homers in the postseason.
“We ended up winning, right? It was a real movie,” Ortiz said. “It was a real-life story and we were all a part of it.”
