Hot Papi: David Ortiz Is Three for 10
A look at the hitter’s career.
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Big Papi and the B-Town Sox - A Dominican-born hitter with a promising career David Américo Ortiz Arias, used to be just a minor league player with big dreams. While his nicknames range from Hot Papi to Señor Octubre to Big Papi, Ortiz proved why critics can call him the best clutch hitter in Boston history on Oct. 30 when he helped the Sox win the 2013 World Series. Take a look at how David Ortiz became Big Papi and earned three championship titles in 10 years.—Dominique Zonyéé(Photo/Elise Amendola/AP Photo)
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Baby Papi - Before he was “Hot Papi” or “Big Papi,” he was David Américo Ortiz Arias. Born on November 18, 1975, in Santo Domingo, D.R., he took after his father Enrique Rosa who loved baseball and played for years in Dominican pro and semipro leagues.(Photo: Matt Slocum/AP Photo)
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Baseball Over Everything - Ortiz played baseball at Estudia Espallat High School and at six-feet tall he had the stature, strength and physical ability to not only stand out on baseball field but on the basketball court as well. Ortiz gravitated toward his first love of baseball, eventually grabbing the attention of scouts.(Photo: David Durochik/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
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Scouts Honor - The Seattle Mariners scouted Ortiz closely and signed him as free agent in 1992, under the name David Arias, when he was just 17. He went on to play for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, a farm team. However, in 53 games, he batted a mere .246 with two homers, striking out 46 times.(Photo: Jay Drowns/Sporting News via Getty Images)
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Major League Debut - Ortiz’s hard work paid off. He made his major league debut on September 2, 1997, for the Minnesota Twins. And for several years, he split playing time between the Twins and their minor league affiliate in Connecticut, the New Britain Rock Cats.(Photo: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
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A Curve Ball - During his tenure with the Twins, Ortiz suffered from various injuries, which in turn affected his performance. He was released from the Twins in 2002, despite hitting 58 home runs and 238 runs batted in (RBIs). His mother, Angela Rosas Arias, was killed in a car crash that same year. (Photo: Peter Jones/Landov)
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“Hey Papi” - His life and career would change on Jan. 22, 2003, when he signed a one-year, $1.25 million contract with the Boston Red Sox. The story goes that when he came to Boston, he didn’t know all his teammates names so he called them all Papi. In return they called him Big Papi, a name he would soon live up to.(Photo: Mike Segar /Landov)
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Championship Paves the Way for Promotion - Ortiz was signed to the Red Sox as a part-time designated hitter and first baseman. But after he played a pivotal role in helping Boston to its first World Series championship in 86 years in 2004, Jeremy Giambi was benched, and Ortiz got his big break in the full-time starting lineup.(Photo: Jim Rogash/WireImage/Getty)
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MVP: Most Valuable Papi - 2004 was a great year for Big Papi. He finished second in the American League in both home runs and RBIs. He was also voted to the All-Star team for the first time and was ranked fourth in American League MVP.(Photo: Jessica Rinaldi /Landov)
Photo By Photo: Jessica Rinaldi /Landov
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Moving on Up and the Second World Series Title - By 2005, Ortiz was ranked No. 2 in the American League MVP, and in 2006 he led the American League in homeruns. He was clearly a force to be reckoned with by 2007 when he helped the Red Sox win their seventh World Series title.(Photo: Twitter via David Ortiz)
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