FOR COLLINS, IT’S DEJA BLUE
Even Yankees love the retiring Big Papi
SAN DIEGO — David Ortiz worries about the future of baseball. So he’s taken it upon himself to do something about it.
This All-Star Game in San Diego was all about Big Papi, Boston’s larger-than-life personality who insists he’s hanging it up at the end of the season despite putting up MVP-type numbers at age 40.
Much like the 2013 game at Citi Field was the Mariano Rivera show and the 2014 game in Minneapolis was a celebration of Derek Jeter, this year’s Midsummer Classic was one big party and Ortiz was the guest of honor.
Although Yankees fans love to hate him for his Yankee-killing ways over the past 14 seasons, they actually owe him a debt of gratitude.
Two years ago, as Dellin Betances was emerging as a breakout star, Ortiz noticed something while watching him pitch. He won’t say what it was, but it was enough to prompt him to ask somebody for Betances’ phone number.
“I saw something during the game that I thought could affect him in the long run,” Ortiz said. “He’s a good kid; I want him to have a long career.”
The two struck up a friendship, and although they remained rivals on the field, Ortiz made a point to look out for Betances as his career began to blossom.
“It’s something that goes a long way,” Ortiz said. “Sometimes a coach or family member gives you some advice and you’re like, ‘OK, whatever.’ But when a player like you comes and gives you advice, you take that more serious.”
Like Ortiz, Betances’ parents are both from the Dominican, so it was only natural for him to admire the Red Sox star as a young baseball fan. For that same guy to extend himself for seemingly no reason was a gesture that stuck with Betances.
“A guy of his magnitude, it means a lot; it was surreal the first time that he called me,” Betances said. “It just shows the person he is. He tries to take care of the younger guys coming up. He’s called me from time to time, told me to continue to work hard. He knows that it wasn’t easy for me to get here, and now that I’ve had success, he wants me to continue to have that drive to get better and better each and every year.”
Betances wasn’t the first player Ortiz reached out to in such a manner, nor was he the last. Big Papi has achieved great success during his two decades in this game, hitting 525 home runs and piloting three Red Sox teams to World Series titles many Boston fans had assumed they would never see in their lifetime. But knowing his playing days were going to come to an end eventually, Ortiz felt it was his duty to help the next generation of players any way he could.
“I worry about the game a lot,” Ortiz said. “This game has a great future. This game is what we are. Whenever a guy like myself reaches out to the younger guys and gives them good advice, it’s for the game to get better. I don’t care who you play for; if I can do something that can help you be better, I will. That’s how I am.”
Even before his final All-Star Game, Ortiz stood up and spoke to his AL teammates in the clubhouse, though Carlos Beltran said the message was mostly directed at the young players and first-timers.
“He tried to tell the younger guys to continue to work hard and not take these moments like it’s normal,” Beltran said. “It was good for them to hear that kind of message from David.”
Robinson Cano was in the same boat a decade ago when he reached the majors. He became friendly with his fellow Dominican native and often leaned on him for advice. Yankees-Red Sox didn’t matter when it came to their friendship.
“He’s the same guy that you see on the field,” Cano said. “He’s always happy, he loves to help people. The way he gets along with people is amazing. He brings such a great energy and a great attitude.”
Betances and Ortiz will return to reality on Friday, suiting up against each other for the first of 13 Yankees-Red Sox games remaining on this year’s schedule.
They’ve faced off 10 times before, with Betances owning the edge: Ortiz is 1-for-9 with a sac fly against him. The one hit, naturally, was a home run.
Whether Ortiz goes down swinging or takes Betances deep, he’s happy to have played a role in helping another budding star take the next step in his development.
“You want a monster like that pitching,” Ortiz said, flashing his trademark smile. “I’m not going to play after this year, so thank God I don’t have to face him anymore. I want to be able to enjoy his career, watching him do what he’s doing for a long time.”