Big Papi Strokes It, Wins HR Derby

Posted on July 13, 2010 by Carl Desberg

David Ortiz captured the Home Run Derby title last night in a thrilling performance. The left-handed slugger came out hungry and while he was all smiles he had his eyes on the prize.

Papi did it with a smile per usual.

Coming out hitting sixth out of eight batters, Papi put up an eight spot which was good enough to move him onto the second round.

Then Papi got HOT.

He blasted 13 dingers in the second round which comfortably sent him to the finals where Ortiz met former Sox prospect Hanley Ramirez. Big Papi went first and set the tone with 11 bombs as he spread them between center, right center, and right field. Hanley could not come close to match his output and Papi claimed his first ever Home Run Derby Championship. David hit 32 homers over three rounds measuring in at over two miles with the farthest going 478 feet.

This was Ortiz’s first appearance in the Derby since 2006 (he participated 2004-06) and he made it count. He was a class act all night cheering on his competition and his classic smile was ear to ear. A true ambassador to the game and a face of the Red Sox organization, Ortiz did good work for baseball on this evening.

The most consistent cog in this patched up Red Sox line up since May 1 (17 HRs), hopefully Papi saved some umph for the second half and doesn’t melt down like former champs (ie Bobby Abreau and Josh Hamilton).

Rather, perhaps this performance can spark his game like the Three Point Contest did for Paul Pierce and propel him and the team toward a run at the pennant.

Tags: Baseball, big papi, Boston, Boston Red Sox, David Ortiz, home run derby, mlb all star game
Category Baseball, Boston Red Sox
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BST&N Looks Back....

Vintage Athlete Of The Month: Andy Brickley
April 21, 2012 | 11:06 am

Andy Brickley

Andy Brickley’s voice is familiar throughout New England and to those of us out-of-market fans who get the NESN broadcasts via the NHL’s Center Ice package. Brickley is the top TV analyst for Boston Bruins’ hockey games. Most fans know he was a part of Boston’s 1989-90 teams that reached the Stanley Cup Finals. What many fans may not know is how hard Brickley has had to work for everything in his career. To pay tribute to his effort and to acknowledge his tremendous contributions to the culture of Boston Bruins hockey is why he is BST&N’s Vintage Athlete Of The Month for April.

The need to prove himself to skeptics started right away in college. Brickley went to school at New Hampshire, but had to walk on the hockey team. He made the squad and played all four years, from 1979-82. By the end of his career he had made first-team All-American and led New Hampshire to the Frozen Four in his senior year.

Two years into his college career he was selected in the NHL Entry Draft, but by the skin of his teeth—Brickley was the final player chosen in a 210-player draft, going to the Philadelphia Flyers. He began his pro career there in the fall of 1982, but a year later he was traded to Pittsburgh, as part of a package involving multiple players and draft picks.

By rights, this should have been the point when his career took off. He scored 18 goals in 50 games, the highest goal output of his career and also had 12 assists. But he ended up demoted to the minor leagues for the egregious sin of breaking curfew. To put the early 1980s in perspective, this was a time when frequent reports of players’ cocaine addictions were becoming public—in all sports. Seen in that light, the idea of demoting Brickley because he broke curfew seems absurd beyond belief.

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