David Ortiz always sought to beat the New York Yankees, but he’ll readily admit that he didn’t want to embarrass them or their fans.
That’s how much he respects the Yankees.
Ortiz had some of the finest moments of his Hall of Fame career against New York, and often was at the center of the Boston Red Sox-Yankees rivalry of the 2000s and 2010s.
His career is over a half-decade in the rearview mirror now, but he still finds himself at Yankee Stadium on occasion. Whether it's in New York or elsewhere, Ortiz said on the “R2C2” podcast with CC Sabathia and Ryan Ruocco that Yankee fans always pay him a huge sign of respect.
“Out of all the 30 teams in MLB,” Ortiz said, “Yankee fans are the only fans that come to me and … before they even take a picture with me, I know they approach me to take a picture with me, but before they take a picture, they tell me ‘Papi, I’m a Yankee fan for life. But I respect you and the way you handled your business.’ You know, I respect that. The ultimate compliment, bro. Listen, every single Yankee fan that comes to me says that.”
While Ortiz is most endeared in Boston, it’s clear that the message Yankee fans deliver is the consensus around baseball.
It’s just a little more jarring when it’s Yankee fans setting aside their fandom to show respect to a Red Sox legend.
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