When I saw the headlines the next morning I wondered how anyone who saw David Ortiz’s last game at Fenway could get it so wrong: “A bad evening for a good team.” “No dramatic finish for David Ortiz.” “Indians sweep aside Ortiz’s last bit of magic.”
Of course, my son, Kurt, and I, along with fans from across New England, hoped Ortiz would do something amazing as he has so often. But he was intentionally walked in his final at-bat in the 8th and when he made it to second on Hanley Ramirez’s RBI single, Manager John Farrell sent in Marco Hernandez to run for him. It all made perfect baseball sense.
And yes, the Red Sox lost the game 4-3 to Cleveland and were swept from the division series, but it was after Travis Shaw popped out to end the game that the magic happened.
Instead of the usual headlong rush to the exits, most people stayed put. We waited what seemed like a very long time for the after-victory activities to wind down.
The Indians and their fans, who were seated all around us behind the Cleveland dugout, celebrated, hugged and were interviewed. The Sox went off to a team meeting in the clubhouse.
Still we waited, thousands and thousands of us, even though we had no assurance we weren’t waiting in vain.
Fans tried to start some kind of chant – “Thank, you Papi” and “We’re not leaving” – but it never took hold. I think most of us assumed that Ortiz wouldn’t interrupt or intrude on Cleveland’s celebration.
Some impatient fans yelled, “Get off the field!” But most of us simply stood in silence.
Eventually the Indians left the field and even the media seemed to think all had been said and done. Then some of the remaining reporters began to hurry across the field and thousands of us turned our heads toward the Sox dugout at nearly the same moment.
Ortiz came up the dugout stairs wearing a bright red shirt and standing a head taller than anyone near him. The theme song from “The Natural” began to play on the loudspeaker and I couldn’t help looking up at the three World Series banners over my head.
When his face appeared on the big screen, Ortiz looked so serious that at first I thought he was unhappy to be called back to the field. But later he told reporters that when he walked out to the mound, he realized it was for the last time.
“I was trying to hold in my emotions,” he said, “but it hit me at that last second. I couldn’t hold it in no more.”
Ortiz tipped his cap to the crowd, turning slowly around Fenway Park, sometimes holding his hand to his heart, to say goodbye to us all. And we cheered a man, his career and his character and tried to thank him. He left wiping away tears and so did we.
That’s a dramatic finish no one will ever forget.
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