Here's the new Wallet Card for me in 2025:
Ortiz was a member of the Twins' 1991 World Series winning roster, in the role of a backup catcher, and the personal catcher for Twins' starter Scott Erickson. He was also often cast in the role of a quirky personality or comic relief, generally because English was not his first language.
Ortiz was the catcher when Rickey Henderson broke the career stolen base record, and when asked if it bothered him, he was quoted as saying "No, he's stolen lots of bases off good catchers, too."
Modesty aside, he was rated as a reliable defender with a strong arm and despite a language barrier, had the reputation for being a great battery mate for his pitching staff. This led to a solid 13 year MLB career.
Ortiz wore the number 0 with the Twins, matching the first letter of his last name. During the 1991 season he experimented with a couple of re-inventions. During a slump he announced to the press he was changing his name to Joe instead of Junior. Days later said he missed Junior but since he had finally gotten a few hits, he'd keep the new moniker. He also shaved his beard "to increase his bat speed" but kept his moustache. “Don’t worry about the mustache. I look so good now. If I do that, I’ll just look like any other ugly person.”
He switched back to "Junior" and that day had a pair of hits while also picking a runner off first base.
In his final season, Ortiz made the difficult decision to sign on as a replacement player during the MLB strike in Spring Training of 1995. “Since I don’t know how long I am going to play in the big leagues, this is a new opportunity for me,” Ortiz told the Associated Press. “I will take all the heat. That was the decision I chose.” He later said “Obviously, if I had to do this all over again, I would have never crossed the line. . . I did something wrong and now I’m paying for it.”
I'm looking forward to having Junior at my side all year.
Reading about Ortiz and his beard cracks me up. Was watching college football with some friends yesterday and the discussion of whether or not excessively long hair and bushy bears impacts an athlete's speed. The fact that less hair also means less things to grab onto which doesn't impact baseball... but could in football.
ReplyDelete