Ted has Big Papi still chasing Red
Ortiz skeptical of Williams’ legendary shot
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Ted Williams’ Red Seat remains Big Papi’s white whale. Section 42. Row 37. Seat 21. Fenway Park bleachers. Officially, this seat is 502 feet from home plate. Legend and newspaper reports tell the story. On June 9, 1946, Williams smote a ball that penetrated the straw hat of Joseph A. Boucher sitting a half-grand feet from home plate. One red dot amid a wall of green marks the landing spot.
It remains perhaps the only target Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz hasn’t hit as he completes his 20th and final season in the majors.
“You see how strong ballplayers are today. And I’m not saying Mr. Ted Williams wasn’t. But you see how far guys are hitting balls today. And none of them can do it?” Ortiz said in the Red Sox dugout before Monday’s 6-2 win over the Rays here.
“That Red Seat? I’ve been hitting bombs for years and I haven’t come close. No disrespect. Mr. Ted Williams was a great hitter. But as far as being strong, I don’t know if he was stronger than me and Mo (Vaughn) … That Red Seat is unhuman.
“I go with an aluminum bat and I’m not even close to it. When players come to Fenway, they say, ‘What is that Red Seat all about?’ I tell them, ‘They say Mr. Ted Williams hit a ball out there.’ And they’re like, ‘Yeah right.’ Players. Power hitters. Guys who hit bombs. They say there’s no way. You can barely see it from second base.”
Ortiz has won three World Series rings in Boston. Monday, he tied Hank Aaron on the all-time doubles list (10th all-time with 624). His 532 career home runs as of yesterday put him 11 ahead of Williams alltime. He’s two away from Jimmie Foxx and four from Mickey Mantle.
Then there’s the white whale, the Red Seat.
This chapter of “Moby-Papi” began the day after the Red Sox retired Wade Boggs’ number in the spring. Claudia Williams spoke glowingly about what her father would have thought of David Ortiz. Her one hang-up with Ortiz, she said, was his unwillingness to believe in the legend of Williams’ Red Seat.
Ortiz remains unwavering in his skepticism. He called “bull(bleep)” on the Red Seat last year and did it again speaking here in June when told about Claudia Williams’ comments. A return to the subject with me Monday triggered an incredulous laugh, lots of head-shaking and a 12-minute dialogue that featured green bats, Ty Cobb videos and a determined disbelief in the Red Seat and all that comes with it.
“How come there’s no video of it? I’ve seen videos of him everywhere. It was in a major-league baseball game where he hit it. You’re going to tell me there’s not one video of it? Not one?” Ortiz asked.
“I’ve seen videos of Ty Cobb. He played way before that. I don’t understand. I’m not saying it didn’t happen. … But what if I told you, ‘OK, this white bat is black but used to be green.’ Are you going to believe it? Or are you going to want a picture. Bottom line, you’ve got to show me something. It’s a long way. It’s like if I tell you I walked from here to Miami. You’re going to be like, ‘OK, but want to see it.’
“I’ve hit balls in games that have disappeared and haven’t gone that far. (Ortiz’s longest measured home run came in 2006 at 488 feet). If you want to tell me one day that two plus two is five, I’m going to need proof to get there. … Josh Hamilton hit a ball at Fenway Park. Not even close. It went about 490 feet and he missed.”
Manny Ramirez’s Coke bottle shot to left in June 2001 was officially measured at 501 feet. But even state-run media types question the truth in the labeling of it to protect Ted’s record.
And that’s perhaps why this subject is conflicting for some fans and media types. It’s Ted Williams’ Red Seat. Not Ted Sizemore’s. “We’re talking about doing something that’s unhuman. (Williams) was one of the greatest hitters who ever played the game. Just look at his numbers,” Ortiz said.
“Just because you were a great hitter doesn’t mean he was the strongest man on planet Earth. We’re talking about distance. Not numbers. We haven’t seen one (like it) in the history of Fenway Park. Not in 100 years.”
And Ted hitting .406 in 1941?
“Those numbers are there,” Papi said. “There’s video of that. There’s video of him hitting .406. What are you going to say to that? I got you.”