Red Sox legend David Ortiz was never one to strike out much.
In a career in which he dealt heartbreaks to Yankees fans regularly, the Hall of Famer rarely swung and missed on the biggest stage. That is until he was tasked with pairing his slugging skills with a gender reveal idea.
On Monday, a video of Ortiz began circulating that’s left New Yorkers wondering what it would be like if Big Papi whiffed instead of hitting a walk-off home run against Mariano Rivera in Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS. Boston would have been sent packing, instead of taking the next three games against New York and then winning the World Series.
In the video, Ortiz’s girlfriend Maria Yeribel underhand tosses a bag to the legendary slugger, who swings and misses. Thankfully, party planners had the situation covered as guests, anticipating the former designated hitter would surely make contact, exploded their confetti poppers revealing that the gender of the baby is a boy.
Yeribel can proudly claim that she struck out Ortiz under pressure. Not even the greatest closer of all time can make that claim.
Ortiz was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2022 after receiving 78.9 percent of the vote on his first ballot. In 2,408 career games, Ortiz slashed .286/.380/552. The three-time World Series champion hit 541 career home runs with 1,768 RBI and made 10 All-Star appearances.
Against the Yankees, Ortiz was a pest. In his career, he batted .303 with a .961 OPS against them, hitting 53 home runs, second-most against any organization in MLB.
Since retiring, he has been a staple of FOX Sports’ MLB coverage. Las season, he was a part of a panel that included former Yankees Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez.