David Ortiz’s criticism of Padres will make Red Sox fans nostalgic

The Boston Red Sox aren’t tussling with the New York Yankees in the postseason this year, so David Ortiz is singlehandedly keeping the Rivalry alive in the FOX Sports studio.

Ortiz has worked as an analyst for FOX for the last few postseasons and often brings up the Sox, whether they’re in the playoffs or not. That’s not uncommon; retired ballplayers often reference situations from their own careers to compare or contrast with what’s playing out on the field. But Ortiz also has another reason to reminisce in the studio: since he’s working with former Yankees slugger Alex ‘A-Rod’ Rodriguez, there’s also a lot of Rivalry talk and hijinks.

After the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres in Game 1 of the NLDS, Ortiz had some advice for the fallen friars, and his choice of words will make Red Sox fans nostalgic:

“The reality is, when you’re playing against your daddy, you need to try to do something different. [laughter from the rest of the panel] You have to try to do something different, Kevin! You can’t just keep, continue having the same approach — your dad knows what you’re gonna do! You need to try something different! …First of all, you’re playing against one of the best offensive teams in baseball, and you were 5-15 against these guys! You gotta try something different.”

It’s an apt comparison, and not just because Padre is Spanish for father. The Padres’ and Dodgers’ rivalry has become quite similar to the pre-2004 Red Sox and Yankees, albeit with better year-round weather.

David Ortiz compares Padres’ struggles vs Dodgers to Pedro Martinez’s iconic “call the Yankees my daddies” quote

And of course, saying that the Dodgers are the Padres’ daddy/dad is a callback to Ortiz’s close friend and former teammate Pedro Martinez’s iconic lament back in September 2004:

“What can I say? I just tip my hat and call the Yankees my daddies.”

But unlike Pedro, who was able to rub a World Series in the Yankees’ faces, even when the Padres do manage to overcome the Dodgers, it’s a short-lived victory. In their 1996 season, they finished one game ahead of the Dodgers to take the NL West but got swept by St. Louis in the NLDS. Two years later, they won the division again, this time, several games ahead of the third-place Dodgers, but lost the World Series to the Yankees. In 2006, the Padres and Dodgers finished with the same record, but since San Diego won the season series, they were awarded the official division title. And in 2020, after the Padres finally overcame the Cardinals in the Wild Card round, the Dodgers swept them and went on to win the World Series. They rebounded to win Game 2 earlier this week, but since their founding in 1969, they’ve been to the World Series twice and never won; the Dodgers have won three championships since the Padres’ inception alone, and seven in franchise history.

So yes, much like the Sox before their historic comeback in the 2004 ALCS, the Padres have been unable to overcome a more powerful division foe and complete their journey. And if acquiring Juan Soto doesn’t make a difference, what will?

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