Three years ago, if you're a Red Sox fan, David Ortiz is the guy you wanted coming to the plate in the last inning of a close game. The guy was money. He didn't necessarily come through all the time, but he did often enough that it felt like he never failed.
In 2010, how many players on the Red Sox roster, excluding pitchers, would you rather see up to bat down a run with a man on in the ninth?
Statistically, Ortiz is the worst hitter on the team this season. He's hitting a pitcher-like .159. Actually, there are 46 pitchers in the National League with higher averages than Ortiz. Granted, they don't have the at-bats, and Ortiz has more hits (10) than any pitcher. But the fact that Big Papi's hitting stats are even remotely comparable to some pitchers is embarrassing.
Watching the Red Sox-Orioles game at the office on Friday night, the score was tied 4-4 in the ninth. With a man on and two outs, Ortiz stepped into the batter's box. I asked a co-worker, "What do you think? Weak groundout?" Without hesitation, he replied, "Strikeout."
Sure enough, Ortiz struck out swinging on a terrible pitch, low and away. The Orioles eventually won in the 10th.
What happened to this man? A popular, and plausible answer is steroids. If he was on the juice in his heyday, and now he's not, that very well could explain the unthinkable drop in production (.332, 117 RBIs in 2007; .264, 89 RBIs in 2008 and .238, 99 RBIs last year).
But perhaps he just got really old, really fast.
At least he can still contribute with his defense.
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