New York Yankees

New York Yankees: Should They Honor David Ortiz

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The New York Yankees have announced that they will conduct a pregame ceremony to honor the career of David Ortiz on September 29th at Yankee Stadium 

In a move that’s certain to light up the switchboards at New York talk radio stations, the New York Daily News and other outlets are reporting that the New York Yankees will honor David Ortiz with a pregame ceremony at Yankee Stadium during his final visit to New York.

Already, the airwaves are filled with protests and even downright anger as comparisons are made with Derek Jeter especially and fans want to know why the Yankees would stoop so low to honor the man who has single handedly made their life so miserable over the course of his career and, in particular, the very personal rivalry between the Yankees and Red Sox.

Let’s get one thing out of the way real fast. David Ortiz is not and never will be Derek Jeter. It’s like comparing Babe Ruth to Rod Carew. It just doesn’t work and it also doesn’t make any sense. Ortiz is not Mickey Mantle and he’s not Ted Williams. He’s Ortiz and his career needs to be measured by the numbers he put up there and that’s all.

Remember, the Red Sox showed some class when they honored Jeter and Ortiz was right in the thick of that celebration, as was fitting. The Yankees have – shall we say – been very “generous” lately in choosing players to single out. Pretty soon, they’ll need to build another deck just to fit all the plaques that are going up. That’s fine. These were good solid Yankees.

But Ortiz, unlike say a Jorge Posada (also honored at the Stadium), is on his way to the Hall of Fame. The numbers he’s put up this year (.314, 31 HR, 111 RBI, and 1.020 OPS) are (check me if I’m wrong) the best ever for a player who’s announced he is playing his final season.

I am not personally a big fan of Ortiz. I can, for instance, recall a time when I visited Fenway to watch the Red Sox play the Yankees. Typically, I got there early as the Red Sox players were arriving. The last Red Sox to arrive at the ballpark that day was Ortiz who came flying around a 90 degree turn on crowded city streets in a bright red Mercedes convertible waving to the crowd as unknowing pedestrians scattered for their lives.

What a pompous guy, I remember thinking to myself. Very little that Mr. Ortiz has done since then has changed my opinion of him.

But the only thing that should matter in this conversation is that Ortiz has proven himself to be one helluva major league hitter, especially given the numbers he is putting up in his final season.

Should Yankee fans stand up and give him a ten minute ovation on the 29th? Heck no. Because he is not ours. He belongs to Boston in the same way that Derek belongs to us.

But shouldn’t we, as fans of baseball , be able to put aside our differences in order to recognize the man for nothing more than what he has been……..one of the most successful sluggers in baseball history (soon to pass “The Mick”)……….and someone who had a knack for getting that hit when it hurts you the most.

Isn’t that all this should really be about?

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