On Wednesday the Red Sox players were all together for their first full team workout. While getting biceps and triceps back in shape was the focus, some players took the time to work out their jaw muscles to express their feelings on a variety of subjects.
One day after making his triumphant entrance at JetBlue Park, David Ortiz sounded off about the rule changes affecting the pace of the game. Needless to say, he wasn’t pleased. He expressed frustration about the idea of the batter keeping one foot in the batter’s box. He felt that the changes mostly favored the pitchers.
Gordon Edes quotes Big Papi as saying “I saw one pitch, I come out, I’m thinking, ‘What is this guy going to try to do to me next?’ I’m not walking around just because there are cameras all over the place and I want my buddies back home to see me and this and that. It doesn’t go that way.”
Ortiz may not be the only player would doesn’t like the fact that baseball’s age-old rules are changing, but he certainly was the most vocal about it today. The changes were made with the consent of the players association. Even Red Sox owner Tom Werner was part of the committee to come up with ways to improve the pace of America’s pastime, but that doesn’t mean that Ortiz, or any other player, has to like the changes.
According to Edes, there is a $500 fine for batters who don’t keep one foot in the batters box. Ortiz’s reaction to this? “Well, I might run out of money. I’m serious. I’m not going to change my game. I don’t care what they say.”
Don’t hold back, Big Papi. Tell us how you really feel. Red Sox nation has come to expect an honest answer from Ortiz, who also had some thoughts to share about A-Rod. When asked if Ortiz had advice for his former friend moving to the DH position Ortiz just said “I’m going to say good luck. Next.”
As Spring Training progresses we’ll see if everyone’s favorite Papi has any other sound bites to share.