Big Papi’s World Series
It just seemed, in watching this year’s baseball postseason, that every time that Big Papi came up to the plate he got a hit. It became an expectation of the fans that he was going to come through no matter what the situation. While there are always clutch players, the reality in baseball is, no matter how good of a hitter you are, you are going to fail more times than you succeed.
Except if you were David Ortiz in the 2013 World Series. In game 5 of the World Series, Ortiz hit a single that went into the shallow outfield. When he arrived on first base, the commentators stated that David Ortiz was 11 of 15 in this World Series. Think about that for a moment: 11 of 15. Then they flashed his average on the screen: .733. Let’s think about that, too. Let it sink in. David Ortiz was batting .733 in the World Series. In game 6, Saint Louis simply gave up on pitching to Ortiz and he was walked 4 times, finishing the World Series with a .688 batting average.
A lifetime .300 hitter in the Major Leagues is most likely going to go to the Hall of Fame. In this World Series, the most high pressure stage in the sport, usually facing one of the best pitching rotations in the league. Ortiz is two and half times more successful than a Hall of Fame caliber hitter.
This is even more staggering when one looks at Big Papi’s performance in comparison to that of his teammates. The Bearded Red Sox, looking like Gnomes or Lumberjacks, are a lovable team, no doubt about it. Nevertheless, the team hitting was downright atrocious in this World Series. Even with Ortiz’s monstrous average factored in, the cumulative Red Sox average for the 2013 World Series was a dismal .211. While the Cardinals weren’t lighting the world on fire, they still managed to bat .224 as a team, a higher team average than the Red Sox. David Ortiz, on his own, willed the Red Sox to a World Series title. The fans know it, the Red Sox clubhouse knows it, and even Ortiz knows it. This is Big Papi’s World Series.
Sources:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/2013_WS.shtml
