Boston Red Sox: The David Ortiz Origin Story

As he finishes his career this season, Boston Red Sox’s David Ortiz has had numerous stories shared about how he became the superstar hitter that he is. What is the truth?

Many national writers have talked about David Ortiz this summer, but sadly, many have missed the mark on his real background. The details are actually sometimes more interesting than the fiction!

How Ortiz Came To Minnesota

David Ortiz, in fact, was not always David Ortiz. David Arias was signed by Seattle in November of 1992 out of the Dominican Republic. He was an unheralded prospect (hence, not being signed at the July 2nd opening date for international free agents out of a widely scouted country like DR), and did not make his professional debut until 1994. His minor league career with the Mariners was fairly nondescript over 3 seasons, but he did hit over .300 with 24 total home runs in 170 games over those three years, reaching the low-A level Midwest League in 1996.

The Twins and Mariners made a trade in 1996 to trade pinch hitter extraordinaire David Hollins to the Mariners in late August for a player to be named later. Ortiz (still named Arias at that time) was the player named to complete the trade once the minor league season had completed, so his first exposure to the Twins was in 1997.

For the Twins in 1997, Ortiz (who had now changed his name) rocketed up the minor league system as a 21 year-old. In a system devoid of power, Ortiz’s big frame was something the Twins valued, and he certainly produced at every level, even hitting for an .802 OPS at the major league level in a 15-game September audition.

Starting in 1998, Ortiz became the strong side of the platoon at DH for the Twins. When there was a righty on the mound, Ortiz was their DH. When there was a lefty, however, they would frequently give a right-handed hitter either a day off in the field or pair another hitter for a short time with Ortiz in that platoon role. Though his splits were frequently not strongly weighted, the Twins insisted he was stronger against right-handed pitchers and he never got 500 plate appearances once with the Twins at the major league level.

Then after 2002, he left for Boston. What happened there?

Next: Ortiz To Boston