David Ortiz led the Boston Red Sox to another win with four hits on Sunday, missing out on hitting for the cycle by mere inches.
The look on David Ortiz‘s face said it all. The Boston Red Sox designated hitter stepped to the plate in the bottom of the 8th inning and crushed a shot near the 420 marker in the center field triangle, which ricocheted off the wall and just barely skipped over the fence for a ground rule double.
Ortiz cringed as he watched the ball bounce out of play, having been fully prepared to hustle around second base on his way for the triple he needed to complete the cycle. Of all the epic accomplishments Ortiz has piled up during his career, hitting for the cycle is one of the few that has escaped him. So it’s only fitting that he would put that on his bucket list for his farewell season.
He came so close – within inches. If that ball hits the padded area of that wall then it likely drops to the ground right in front of that spot. If it hits a bit lower on the wall then maybe it doesn’t bounce high enough to clear the fence. If the ball stays in the field of play then there is no doubt that Ortiz sprints for third base, where he probably makes it easily.
David Ortiz was THIS CLOSE to hitting for the cycle. https://t.co/IjJLIMsRCY
— Jared Carrabis (@Jared_Carrabis) May 22, 2016
It would have been only Ortiz’s second triple of the season and fourth in the last five seasons. If a 40-year old man the size of Big Papi is going to hit a triple in Fenway Park, that’s the spot to aim for. Ortiz hit it right where he wanted it, but an unlucky bounce cost him the chance at a rare accomplishment.
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Instead, Oritz will have to settle for a 4-for-4 day that included a home run and a pair of doubles. Not too shabby, but not quite historic. It’s not as if the extra base would have made any difference in Boston’s 5-2 win over the Cleveland Indians, so hitting for the cycle is a bit of a superficial feat, but in this case it would have been something special. Why’s that? Well, it would have made Ortiz the oldest player in major league history to do it. The current record is held by Dave Winfield, who hit for the cycle at the age of 39 back in 1991.
Ortiz fell short of claiming that record, but he’s on pace to challenge a couple of others. Those two doubles he hit on Sunday brought his season total to a major league-high 19, which puts him on pace for 69 over the course of the season. The current record for doubles in a season is held by former Red Sox outfielder Earl Webb, who smacked 67 doubles in 1931. Only six hitters in history have ever topped 60 doubles in a season, but it hasn’t been done since 1936.
Big Papi also leads the majors with 31 extra-base hits, putting him on pace for 114 for the season. Only Babe Ruth (119 in 1921) and Lou Gehrig (117 in 1927) have ever piled up more extra-base hits in a season. Ortiz’s career high is 91, which he set back in 2004 at the age of 28. Could he really surpass that a dozen years later? No player over the age of 36 has ever hit at least 80 extra-base hits in a season before, but Ortiz looks like he may obliterate that mark.
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What Ortiz is doing at this age is incredible, as he continues to defy Father Time like we’ve never seen before. He’s fourth in the league in hitting at .329, first in OPS at 1.092 and second in the league with 37 RBI.
If Ortiz keeps this up he will put himself in the conversation for the MVP award. He would become the oldest player to ever win the award, surpassing Barry Bonds, who was named NL MVP in 2004 at the age of 39.
The Red Sox slugger is having a season for the ages, but he still hasn’t crossed hitting for the cycle off his list. Not today, maybe not ever.
Next: Red Sox on historic pace for doubles
There’s still time left for Ortiz to hit for the cycle before he calls it a career, but it’s hard to imagine a guy that has never done it coming this close again. Then again, with the way he is hitting this season, don’t count him out.