Knuckle Curve » david ortiz

David Ortiz: “I Never Used Steroids”

Stephen Kersey — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 03:55:27 +0000

David Ortiz, the Boston Red Sox slugger who recently was named as being on a 2003 list that included baseball players that had tested positive for performance enhancers, announced on Saturday that he never purchased or used steroids.

Said Ortiz: “I definitely was a little bit careless back in those days when I was buying supplements and vitamins over the counter — legal supplements, legal vitamins over the counter — but I never buy steroids or use steroids.”

In addition to Ortiz, that 2003 steroids list reported included Alex Rodriguez, Sammy Sosa and Manny Ramirez. Ortiz was apologetic about his inclusion on the list.

Said Ortiz: “I want to apologize to fans for the distraction, my teammates, our manager. This past week has been a nightmare to me.”

This season, even before this news, there had been whispers about Ortiz past steroids use explaining why he has struggled so much this season. On the year, Ortiz is hitting just .219 with 15 homers and 61 RBIs. The 33-year-old’s bad season just got worse.

“I never thought that buying supplements and vitamins,” said Ortiz, “it was going to hurt anybody’s feelings.”

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Big Papi Tied to Positive Steroids Test

Stephen Kersey — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 20:57:20 +0000

The day has come that many Boston Red Sox fans have dreaded – Big Papi has been tied to steroids. According to The New York Times, David Ortiz had a 2003 positive drug test for a performance-enhancing substance.

Although the newspaper didn’t have information regarding what substance Ortiz tested positive for back in 2003, this is definitely bad news for Ortiz and the legacy of the Red Sox. Arguably the two best hitters on the 2004 and 2007 World Series champions have been tied to steroids — Ortiz and Manny Ramirez.

When asked about the reported positive steroids test, Ortiz said that he had no comment. His exact quote was: “I’m not talking about that anymore.”

Chances are Ortiz will have to address these rumors. He may opt to deny the positive steroids test. He may opt to go the Alex Rodriguez route and admit to using performance-enhancing substances. But he’ll likely have to say something.

Although he has heated up lately, David Ortiz is struggling through one of the worst years of his career. The 33-year-old is hitting .228 with 14 homers, 58 RBIs and 39 runs.

David Ortiz - Positive Steroids Test (Image: Zuma Press)

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David Ortiz Boston Red Sox – Injury Update

Stephen Kersey — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 05:53:32 +0000

David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox is slowly but surely finding his way back from his wrist injury. Recently, Ortiz went from hitting off of a tee to hitting soft tosses. The next step for Ortiz is to hit live pitching.

Ortiz is the Red Sox designated hitter so he doesn’t have to worry about injuring his wrist in the field. That said, he swings the bat with such power that the Red Sox will make sure he’s 100% before he’s given the green light to return.

Although a specific date hasn’t been set, it should be within two weeks after the All-Star Game as long as everything goes as planned.

Here is a David Ortiz video regarding the Red Sox and their season so far:

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Red Sox David Ortiz to the DL

Stephen Kersey — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 03:08:46 +0000

David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox is headed to the DL with an injured wrist. Ortiz, who has a partially torn tendon in his wrist, is out for an indefinite amount of time. The good news is that the Red Sox don’t believe he’ll need surgery and believe he’ll be back before too long.

While Ortiz is out, expect Manny Ramirez to go to DH. While Boston’s outfield defense will improve with Ramirez moving to DH, Ortiz was hitting the ball very well and will be missed in the middle of the lineup.

The Red Sox stand at 35-25 and are set to begin a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays are 35-22 and sit in first place in the AL East. If the Red Sox can sweep the series, they’ll move into first place. However, that will be difficult without the services of Ortiz.

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Where Are They Now: Top Prospects of ‘98, #81-90

Geoff Young — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 07:44:47 +0000

The year is 1998. Alex Rodriguez and Roberto Alomar homer to help lead the American League to victory in the All-Star Game at Coors Field. Larry Doby and Don Sutton are inducted into the Hall of Fame. Pat Burrell is the first pick in the amateur draft, while the #50 pick is an outfielder out of New Caney High School in Texas who hit five home runs and stole 32 bases as a senior: his name is Adam Dunn.

In our first installment, we revisited the careers of Orlando Cabrera and Geoff Jenkins, as well as others who didn’t enjoy their level of success. This time we find a similar mix of studs and duds. To the names:

Derrick Gibson, OF, Colorado Rockies. Dripping with tools, but lacking in skills need to use them, Gibson batted .286/.327/.449 over 52 plate appearances in 1998 and 1999. For as big and strong as he was, Gibson never put up monster numbers once he got out of A-ball. Lack of plate discipline was his primary downfall, as he averaged just 32 walks per 500 plate appearances in the minors. He last played in 2005 in the Atlanta Braves system and owns a .279/.325/.465 career line over 11 minor-league seasons.
Gil Meche, RHP, Seattle Mariners. Regular readers know that I lampooned the Royals’ December 2006 signing of Meche, but the fact is, the guy has a big-league career. Between injuries and ineffectiveness, he’s had exactly one good season in seven. Meche owns a career record of 64-57 with a 4.44 ERA. His ERA+ is 101, or roughly league average, and his list of top comps through age 28 includes Jason Schmidt and a lot of mid-rotation types: Joel Pineiro, Jason Marquis, Todd Stottlemyre, etc.
Javier Vazquez, RHP, Montreal Expos. I know some very smart people who looked at Vazquez’ 2001 season (particularly his gaudy peripheral numbers) and assumed that at age 24, he was on his way to even bigger and better things. It didn’t work out that way, of course, but he’s been a solid big-league starter for a decade now. Vazquez has made 32 or more starts every year except 1999 (when he had “only” 26 starts), and is 115-113 with a 4.28 ERA (105 ERA+) for his career.
David Ortiz, 1B, Minnesota Twins. The Seattle Mariners traded Ortiz, then known as David Arias, to the Twins for Dave Hollins in September 1996. After a few decent years in Minnesota, Ortiz appeared to have a breakout season in 2002, at age 26, when he hit .272/.339/.500. The Twins did what any team starved for hitting would do and released Ortiz that December. The Boston Red Sox snatched him up and he’s been one of the best hitters of our generation ever since.
Nelson Lara, RHP, Florida Marlins. Lara began pitching professionally in 1995, at age 16. Poor control (6.94 BB/9 over 349 minor-league innings) kept him from reaching the Show. Lara last pitched in affiliated pro ball in 2002, mostly with the High-A San Jose Giants. He also spent some time with Trois-Rivieres in the indy Canadian League the following year, before disappearing altogether.
Juan Melo, SS, San Diego Padres. Wow, a young Padres shortstop who never made it. Those are hard to find, kind of like water in the ocean. On September 7, 2000, while with the San Francisco Giants, Melo singled to center against the Padres’ Carlos Almanzar to drive home the final run of a 13-0 victory over his former team. That was his only big-league hit. Now 31 years old, Melo spent 2007 playing for the Nationals’ Double-A club in Harrisburg. He owns a .282/.324/.409 career line in 4892 minor-league plate appearances, and has also played in Taiwan and the independent Golden Baseball League.
Todd Dunwoody, OF, Florida Marlins. Dunwoody was a toolsy outfielder out of an Indiana high school who drew comparisons to Brady Anderson and Todd Hollandsworth. Unfortunately he had no concept of the strike zone and hit just .233/.277/.348 in 948 plate appearances from 1997 to 2002. In 2005, his final season as a player, Dunwoody batted .247/.290/.370 in 96 games with the Twins’ Triple-A club in Rochester. The following year he served as hitting coach for the Midwest League’s South Bend Silver Hawks, an Arizona Diamondbacks affiliate.
Chris Reitsma, RHP, Boston Red Sox. What a long, strange trip it’s been for Reitsma. The former first-round pick missed significant chunks of time in the minors due to injuries, was taken by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 1999 Rule V draft, given back to Boston the following March, traded to the Cincinnati Reds that August for an aging Dante Bichette. In Cincy, Reitsma was a decent starter for two years, then a decent reliever for one. He’s been hurt for much of the past two seasons. In 338 big-league games, Reitsma owns a 32-46 record, with a 4.70 ERA (93 ERA+) and 37 saves. His most comparable pitcher through age 29 is Dan Miceli.
Valerio de los Santos, LHP, Milwaukee Brewers. A hard-throwing left hander with command and injury issues, de los Santos spent parts of eight seasons in the big leagues, mostly with the Brewers. He last pitched at Triple-A Charlotte (Chicago White Sox) in 2006. De Los Santos finished his big-league career with a 9-12 record and a 4.54 ERA (95 ERA+) over 233 career appearances.
Jeff Wallace, LHP, Pittsburgh Pirates. Wallace was a more extreme version of de los Santos. Live arm, spotty command and health. In four big-league seasons he went 3-3 with a 4.20 ERA (108 ERA+) over 119 appearances. Wallace last pitched for Triple-A Pawtucket (Red Sox) in 2002, at the ripe old age of 26.

There you have it. Next time we’ll take a look at a late-blooming third baseman, a solid catcher and starting pitcher, and a whole lot of disappointment. Until then…

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