In the sixth inning of game four, the Boston Red Sox down 2-1 in the series and tied 1-1 on the night, David Ortiz gave a speech in the dugout. Big Papi wasn’t ready to lose just yet.
“We don’t get here every day. Let’s fucking relax and play the game the way we know how. We better than this shit right here. Let’s loosen up. Let’s play the game we do.”
One player said it was as if 24 kindergartners—with beards, mind you—were inspired by a wise teacher. Ortiz said Bill Clinton was his muse. (“He makes a lot of money making speeches. And he changes a lot of lives with his speeches.”)
Of course, the Red Sox went on to win game four and game five and then game six to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals and win the World Series. Ortiz absolutely hammered the ball this October—at one point he was batting .733 in the World Series, while the rest of the Red Sox could only muster a .144 average—and was named most valuable player. Boston, for the first time since 1918, celebrated a World Series victory at Fenway Park. Here’s a look at Ortiz’s historic numbers.
4 walks in game six. 3 were intentional.
19 times on base, in 25 plate appearances against the Cardinals.
37 years old, third oldest World Series MVP.
.688 batting percentage with 11 hits in 16 at bats. (Record is .750 by Billy Hatcher.)
.465 career batting average in World Series.
2 home runs, and 6 RBIs.
1 Carlos Beltran rib bruised after robbing Ortiz of a grand slam.
3 World Series won with the Red Sox in 10 years.
0 curses in his MVP acceptance speech. He did say “beep” in an act of self-censorship.
1 Awesome beard.
