Comparing David Ortiz with Minnesota Twins to Big Papi with Boston Red Sox

Before there was Big Papi, there was David Ortiz. The designated hitter/first baseman of the Minnesota Twins that was given his outright release after the 2002 season signed with the Boston Red Sox for the 2003 season, and the rest is history.

The question is should Ortiz have been cut by the Twins?

Obviously, if you look at the stats Ortiz puts up now with the Red Sox, the answer is no. If you look closer into Ortiz’s stats in his time in Minnesota, the evidence of a rise in productivity was there…kind of.  

Before we look into his stats, let’s first look at why Ortiz was cut in the first place.

The simple fact is that Ortiz was always hurt during his time with the Twins. Ortiz played his first full season in 1998, and his last year in Minnesota was 2002. In that time span, Ortiz only played in 100-plus games twice. In 1998-1999 and 2001, Ortiz had wrist injuries that limited his games and his productivity.

In Ortiz’s final year in Minnesota in 2002, he had knee problems that stayed with him all season long. Throw in the fact he was never consistent when he was healthy, both in the field at first and in the batter’s box, and the decision to cut him seemed simple enough. Then you look at the back of his baseball card.

As stated earlier, Ortiz played 100-plus games in two seasons with the Twins in 2000 (130 games) and 2002 (125 games), so these are the years we are going to compare. David Ortiz is a power hitter, so the only stats to compare are home runs and RBI.

Home runs in 2000: 10             

Home runs in 2002: 20

An initial look at those stats and you go "Wow! He completely doubled his home run total!"

Let’s look at RBI now.

RBI in 2000: 63 

RBI in 2002: 75

That’s the kicker. Ortiz knocked out 10 more runs between the two years, and he only hit in 12 more guys. If you assume all of his 10 more home runs were solo blasts, he only added two RBI to his total not from his added home runs.

Obviously, one or two of his 10 more jacks had to have a runner or two on, which leads us to conclude that Ortiz was not clutch at all with the Twins.

Hard to believe that the David Ortiz that was with the Twins is the same Big Papi that was given a plaque by the Red Sox owners that said “the greatest clutch hitter in the history of the Boston Red Sox.”

Maybe it has to do with the fact that he was on The New York Times list of roughly 100 players who tested positive for performance enhancing drugs in 2003 along with his fellow Red Sox teammate Manny Ramirez. Ortiz says he’s never bought or used steroids or any performance enhancer, but it’s odd to see a jump from 20 home runs in 2002 with the Twins to 31 home runs with the Sox the next year. Add in the fact he only played in three more games in 2003 than he did in 2002, and something smells just a tad fishy.

Don’t worry, Boston. It may not be your fault though.

The year squeezed in between his two 100-plus game years with the Twins is 2001. He only played in 89 games, but he hit 18 home runs. Ortiz’s home runs went in those three years 10, 18 and 20. In 41 less games, Ortiz knocked out eight more homers than he did the year before and 112 less at-bats than the year before.

It must be magic.

In 2002, he played 36 more games than in 2001—his breakout year with the Twins—and in those 36 games he added only two more home runs. He added 27 RBI in the year, but these stats just prove Ortiz was just not consistent enough to be on the Minnesota Twins ballclub, and we may now know what it really means when athletes say they just needed a change of scenery.