It was 2010, and it appeared as if David Ortiz’s Red Sox career might come to an unceremonious end. Big Papi was struggling mightily through the early portion of the season, hitting just .200 on May 12 and faring even worse against left-handers.
Then it was A-Rod to the rescue.
Papelbon opens up about the end of his Red Sox career
Alex Rodriguez recently opened up about his long friendship with David Ortiz to the Globe’s Chad Finn. The two superstars have been friends for decades, dating back to their time together in instructional ball in September 1993. At the time, Rodriguez was 18 years old, and Ortiz was 17.
“We became good friends there,” said Rodriguez. “As you can imagine, everyone was drawn to him, even at that age.”
They remained close throughout their decorated Major League careers, even as they were immersed in the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry. Sometimes, Ortiz would give Rodriguez rides to Fenway when the Yankees were in town.
“When he would come to New York at the height of the rivalry, he would come to my house and have dinner, and when I struggled, he would give me batting lessons and talk about the mental side,” said Rodriguez.
The favor was returned in 2010, when Ortiz was going through his mid-career slump and thought the Red Sox were maybe on the verge of releasing him.
“Then years later, when he got a little bit overweight and he struggled, I basically went in to his house, looked in his fridge, and sat down and helped him change his complete diet,” said Rodriguez.
It must’ve worked. Ortiz finished the 2010 season on a tear, and went on to slash .296/.386/.568 with 192 home runs over his final five seasons.
“Throughout our careers, it’s been very back and forth about how we helped each other out,” said Rodriguez.
Ortiz will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame Sunday. Maybe he’ll give a hat tip to his controversial longtime friend in his acceptance speech.