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David Ortiz: Just Play your Game

By Darrell Samuels

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Jun 20, 2015; Kansas City, MO, USA; Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz (34) who was previously ejected by home plate umpire Bruce Dreckman (1), pretends to eject Dreckman in the seventh inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

To say that the Boston Red Sox team and their fans had a disappointing 2 ½ months is an understatement. There’s pressure on the team to win and they have had very little to praise and get excited about.

Red Sox Manager John Farrell had an argument with his starting pitcher Wade Miley during a game. The Red Sox have also suffered terrible fielding from their prized acquisition Hanley Ramirez in left field. Their new third baseman Pablo Sandoval has also been in the doghouse with off the field activities.

If that was not bad enough, their two big stars, designated hitter David Ortiz and second baseman Dustin Pedroia have both spoken out about their displeasure in the way the season has unfolded.

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The team is currently in last place of the American League East division. This past weekend, the Red Sox were in Kansas City to play the Royals for a 3 game series at Kaufmann Stadium. Saturday night, the Royals beat the Red Sox 7-4 and Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz was at the center of things once again. During the seventh inning of this game, Ortiz was thrown out of the game for arguing balls and strikes with home plate umpire Bruce Dreckman. Ortiz left the game after his argument with Dreckman but not before letting everyone know what he thought of the state of umpiring in the game.

“I mean, man, this (expletive) game has changed so much,” Ortiz told reporters in Kansas City.

"“Nothing is new to me, you know what I’m saying? This is like, I mean, everybody keeps saying, ‘He’s old, he’s this, he’s that, that’s why he doesn’t hit anymore.’ All of a sudden, I was being one of the best strike-zone hitters to being one of the worst. So, from day to night, it doesn’t work that way. It feels like every time you go into the box, you have two strikes already. You can’t hit like that, period. You can’t hit like that. I’m facing a guy that’s throwing 100 mph and you’re going to give him two pitches. How am I going to hit?”"

To give a brief recap of the encounter, the Kansas City Royals had their reliever Kelvin Herrera on the mound. He worked Ortiz to a 1 ball, 2 strike count. During the at-bat Ortiz appeared to have had some words with Dreckman. Ortiz had delivered a base hit to center field. Then the dramatics came. Ortiz, a nine time All-Star, threw his bat into fair territory.

The home plate umpire Dreckman ran out to first base to meet Ortiz. Ortiz mockingly waved Dreckman, prompting Big Papi to be dismissed from the game. To say Ortiz was stunned was an understatement. Ortiz went on to say:

"“All I have to say is that this situation between players and umpires is getting to a ridiculous point. And it’s because it seems to me it’s more of a feeling than reality. I’m an 18-year veteran in this league and when I was coming up, it seems like you deserve respect because of that. But it seems like it doesn’t work anymore. Growing up in my house, I was taught that if you don’t respect me, I don’t respect you, you know what I’m saying? That’s how I am. That’s life. You call two bad pitches on a guy that throws 100, what do you want me to do? It was pretty obvious that those two pitches were pretty bad. Not only that, I look at you, you look at me, and I tell you the guy doesn’t need help and you keep giving me signals. I finally give up on you and you throw me out of the game for that? I don’t know.”"

Of course, David Ortiz is one of the greatest names and players in the game today. He has won 3 World Series during his tenure in Boston. He is a constant homerun threat and a feared man every time his name is announced to come to the plate. No question. This is not an article to state that he’s a terrible player. However, this year he appears to be having a declining year with his statistics.

However, this stunt by Mr. Ortiz just continues to show that there are a lot of problems building within the Red Sox roster and frustration is clearly at a boiling point.

First off, the umpires do not ‘owe’ Ortiz anything because he’s been around the league for 18 years. Yes, as already stated, he’s had a fantastic career over stops in Minnesota and Boston. The umpires are called to do a job and that’s call balls and strikes if they are behind home plate.

If they are at one of the bases, their job is to decide whether the player is out or safe. Only the umpires calling Red Sox games can honestly assess whether they are calling thrown balls for strikes as opposed to balls. Ortiz is not God and cannot mind-read as to what the mindset of umpire Dreckman was during that game in Kansas City. That answer can only come from Dreckman as to what he felt was the proper call.

Players like David Ortiz or Dustin Pedroia, or any other veteran on this roster or across the Majors, need to man up and accept the umpire’s occasional missed call. No player or umpire is perfect and everyone does make mistakes, even Ortiz or Pedroia. The players have all been given a gift to play baseball and earn lots of money.

Nobody’s taking away their skill and talent. However, showing up umpires are not going to help win their favor. They need to take their at bats seriously, accepting whatever might happen gracefully and be the type of role model that kids can look up to and admire.

Ortiz’s actions show fans that he thinks he can act like a spoiled cry baby about a ‘missed call’ in his eyes and have umpires give him grace because he’s been around the league for 18 years. Well, that’s wrong! The game is judged on hits by hitters and strikes by pitchers. The amount of years of service to the game is not how the game of baseball is judged.

Next: Should Big Papi call it a career?

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