Baseball

B-I-G P-A-P-I

There's only one way to spell American League MVP for the Red Sox.

By MARC TOPKIN
Published October 4, 2005

There has been considerable debate among the voters whether David Ortiz's contributions as Boston's designated hitter are enough for him to be considered the American League's Most Valuable Player.

Among the Red Sox, there is no doubt.

After a wild run to capture the AL wild card, the Sox open postseason defense of their World Series championship today in Chicago knowing a primary reason they've made it this far is that Ortiz has carried them.

"To me, he is the MVP," Sox centerfielder Johnny Damon said during Boston's late-September visit to Tropicana Field. "You take him away from our team and, yeah, we'd be good - we have what, 88 wins? - we may have 70 wins, maybe. But the fact that he has stepped up to the plate and hit game-tying and go-ahead home runs . . .

"He's the difference between getting to the playoffs or not even having a chance. We would not have won the World Series without him. That's how special he is."

What Ortiz has done is impressive.

He led the majors with 148 RBIs and the American League with 88 extra-base hits, was second in the AL and third overall with 47 home runs (second most in Sox history), and ranked in the AL top four in on-base (.397) and slugging (.604) percentage and runs (119).

Even better is how he has done it, delivering time and time again when the Red Sox needed it most.

Of his 47 homers, 20 have either tied the score or given the Sox a lead, 19 were hit in the seventh inning or later, and 22 have come in the final 51 games as the Sox battled for a playoff spot (11 in September). While his overall average was .299, he hit .352 with runners in scoring position and .368 with runners on and two out.

"He's one of the best hitters in the game, if not the best anyway, and the timing of some of his hits has made him extraordinary," Sox manager Terry Francona said.

"If this guy's not the MVP, holy (cow). All the things we talked about Vladimir (Guerrero, who won the 2004 award with a strong September) last year, this guy's done, but he's done for a longer period."

The Sox got the 6-foot-4, 230-pound Ortiz when, in a move that looks worse every day, the Twins declined to tender him a contract after the 2002 season. All Ortiz has done in the three seasons in Boston is hit .297 and average 40 home runs and 129 RBIs.

"The first year he was here we knew he was pretty good," Damon said. "Last year we thought he was great. And now he's Superman."

Because Ortiz is so dangerous, pitchers are getting more and more careful with him, even with Manny Ramirez hitting behind him. Some teammates even go so far as to compare Ortiz's presence to that of Giants slugger Barry Bonds.

"I think he's as close to Barry Bonds-ish as you can get," first baseman/outfielder Kevin Millar said. "He's only getting a pitch here or there a game and it seems like he does damage with it."

Ortiz's primary goal over the next four weeks is to lead the Sox to another championship as he did last year when he lived up to his nickname of Big Papi. He talks about setting an example for his team, and he knows that how he and Ramirez do is usually a big part of the team's overall chances for success.

"Our team really needed somebody to step up and produce and take the lead and take over so everybody else can follow," Ortiz, 29, said.

Next month, he'll find out about the MVP award, which, based on regular-season play, figures to come down to Ortiz and Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez.

"Any player would love to be an MVP," Ortiz said. "If any player tells you it means nothing to him, he's lying. The MVP means that you did what you were supposed to all year."

The arguments against Ortiz are the obvious ones - he only plays half the game, and no DH has ever won it.

The Red Sox's answers are even simpler. So what?

"I've heard people say the designated hitter doesn't do this, doesn't do that," Francona said. "But if you go back and look at the winners of the MVPs, they've done it offensively. I guarantee you. Guys win it for what they do offensively. Frank Thomas won it as a first baseman. (Jose) Canseco. I can give you a lot of names.

"What this guy's doing offensively makes him, in my opinion, the most valuable player."

[Last modified October 4, 2005, 02:15:30]