David Ortiz racked up a ton of accolades throughout his career.
The Boston Red Sox legend hit the 17th-most home runs in MLB history during his Hall of Fame career while also being able to hit for a .286 average.
However, there is one elusive club that Ortiz thinks he could’ve made if it wasn’t for one specific thing.
Ortiz joined Audacy’s original “The Bret Boone Podcast” this week and explained how the shift kept him from reaching 3,000 hits in his career.
“The only thing I can tell you about that is that was the only thing that I would say kept me from getting 3,000 hits,” Ortiz said. “If that didn’t exist, I think I would’ve had a pretty good chance to be close to 3,000 hits because they started doing that to me very early in my career.”
Ortiz racked up 2,472 hits – 528 shy of 3,000 –- in his 20-year career which ranks him 104th all-time. He would’ve needed an average of 38 more hits per season during his 14 years with the Red Sox in order to join the 3,000-hits club.
Despite being a victim of the shift, Ortiz never tried to change his approach. His swing worked for him, even if it cost him a few hits here and there.
“I never really tried to change anything on my swing,” he said. “The only time it really affected me was when I hit a ball that was supposed to be a base hit in between the first baseman and the right fielder, and all of a sudden you see the second baseman is catching the ball over there right in front of the right fielder.
“That was the only time I would be like ‘Damn.’ Other than that, I never tried to change my approach.”
Major League Baseball put an end to the shift this season with the new rule that two infielders must be on the dirt on either side of second base when the pitch is thrown. Who knows, maybe Ortiz could’ve had an even more iconic career had he not been shifted so heavily.
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