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David Ortiz's Players' Tribune Essay Bashes His Critics & Dan Shaughnessy | BostInno
David Ortiz Blasts His Critics in a Biting First-Person Essay
He insists he's clean, says he belongs in the Hall of Fame and lays into the "reporter with the jheri curl from the Boston Globe."
Alex Reimer
03/26/15 @8:37pm in Sports
http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url...s+in+a+Biting+First-Person+Essay&via=BostInno
In a scathing first-person essay on Derek Jeter's Players' Tribune, Ortiz defends himself against steroid accusations with such fervor that you almost have no choice but to believe him. The piece starts with an anecdote about Major League Baseball drug testers who showed up to his door at 7:30 a.m. one day this offseason. Ortiz, 39, says he's been tested more than 80 times since MLB implemented its drug policy in 2004.
In some people’s minds, I will always be considered a cheater," Ortiz says. "And that’s bullshit. Mark my words: Nobody in MLB history has been tested for PEDs more than me. You know how many times I’ve been tested since 2004? More than 80. They say these tests are random. If it’s really random, I should start playing the damn lottery. Some people still think the testing is a joke. It’s no joke. Ten times a season these guys come into the clubhouse or my home with their briefcases. I have never failed a single one of those tests and I never will."
Ortiz was one of 104 players who tested positive for a banned substance during an anonymous, preliminary round of drug testing in Spring Training 2003. The tests results were never supposed to be made public. Ortiz insists he's never purposefully taken performance-enhancing drugs, and still doesn't know what he tested positive for more than a decade later.
"Let me tell you something," Ortiz writes. "Say whatever you want about me — love me, hate me. But I’m no bullshitter. I never knowingly took any steroids. If I tested positive for anything, it was for something in pills I bought at the damn mall. If you think that ruins everything I have done in this game, there is nothing I can say to convince you different."
Ortiz is no dummy. He's seen the severe consequences players have payed when they've lied about their steroid use. Either he's telling the truth, or he's the most arrogant individual who's ever walked the face of the earth.
There's no parsing Ortiz's words here. He says he's clean, and belongs in the Hall of Fame. In an era in which many celebrities are hesitant to say anything of substance, his candor is mesmerizing.
"Hell yes I deserve to be in the Hall of Fame," Ortiz writes. "I’ve won three World Series since MLB introduced comprehensive drug testing. I’ve performed year after year after year. But if a bunch of writers who have never swung a bat want to tell me it’s all for nothing, OK. Why do they write my legacy?"
On the topic of writers, Ortiz has some harsh words for Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy, who's been one of his most ardent critics at times. Shaughnessy penned a column in May 2013 that speculates on Ortiz's possible steroid abuse. Ortiz had gotten off to a torrid start that season despite missing all of Spring Training.
In 2013, I came off the DL and started hot," Ortiz says. "My first 20 games I was hitting like .400. And the reporter with the red jheri curl from The Boston Globe comes into the locker room says, 'You’re from the Dominican. You’re older. You fit the profile of a steroid user. Don’t you think you’re a prime suspect?'
"He’s saying this with a straight face. I had taken like 70 at-bats. Anybody can get hot and hit .400 with 70 at-bats. I was stunned. I’m like, I’m Dominican? I fit the profile? Are you kidding me?
"I wanted to kill this guy. But you can’t react. That’s what they want. They want you to get angry so they can bury you. So I just smiled at him and asked for his address.
"Why do you want my address?" he said.
“Because I just got tested two days ago.” I said. “I’ll mail you the f****ing results.”
Ortiz hit 30 home runs in 2013, and took home World Series MVP honors that fall.
But if he didn't get his last laugh then, he's probably enjoying it now.
David Ortiz Blasts His Critics in a Biting First-Person Essay
He insists he's clean, says he belongs in the Hall of Fame and lays into the "reporter with the jheri curl from the Boston Globe."
Alex Reimer
03/26/15 @8:37pm in Sports
http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url...s+in+a+Biting+First-Person+Essay&via=BostInno
In a scathing first-person essay on Derek Jeter's Players' Tribune, Ortiz defends himself against steroid accusations with such fervor that you almost have no choice but to believe him. The piece starts with an anecdote about Major League Baseball drug testers who showed up to his door at 7:30 a.m. one day this offseason. Ortiz, 39, says he's been tested more than 80 times since MLB implemented its drug policy in 2004.
In some people’s minds, I will always be considered a cheater," Ortiz says. "And that’s bullshit. Mark my words: Nobody in MLB history has been tested for PEDs more than me. You know how many times I’ve been tested since 2004? More than 80. They say these tests are random. If it’s really random, I should start playing the damn lottery. Some people still think the testing is a joke. It’s no joke. Ten times a season these guys come into the clubhouse or my home with their briefcases. I have never failed a single one of those tests and I never will."
Ortiz was one of 104 players who tested positive for a banned substance during an anonymous, preliminary round of drug testing in Spring Training 2003. The tests results were never supposed to be made public. Ortiz insists he's never purposefully taken performance-enhancing drugs, and still doesn't know what he tested positive for more than a decade later.
"Let me tell you something," Ortiz writes. "Say whatever you want about me — love me, hate me. But I’m no bullshitter. I never knowingly took any steroids. If I tested positive for anything, it was for something in pills I bought at the damn mall. If you think that ruins everything I have done in this game, there is nothing I can say to convince you different."
Ortiz is no dummy. He's seen the severe consequences players have payed when they've lied about their steroid use. Either he's telling the truth, or he's the most arrogant individual who's ever walked the face of the earth.
There's no parsing Ortiz's words here. He says he's clean, and belongs in the Hall of Fame. In an era in which many celebrities are hesitant to say anything of substance, his candor is mesmerizing.
"Hell yes I deserve to be in the Hall of Fame," Ortiz writes. "I’ve won three World Series since MLB introduced comprehensive drug testing. I’ve performed year after year after year. But if a bunch of writers who have never swung a bat want to tell me it’s all for nothing, OK. Why do they write my legacy?"
On the topic of writers, Ortiz has some harsh words for Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy, who's been one of his most ardent critics at times. Shaughnessy penned a column in May 2013 that speculates on Ortiz's possible steroid abuse. Ortiz had gotten off to a torrid start that season despite missing all of Spring Training.
In 2013, I came off the DL and started hot," Ortiz says. "My first 20 games I was hitting like .400. And the reporter with the red jheri curl from The Boston Globe comes into the locker room says, 'You’re from the Dominican. You’re older. You fit the profile of a steroid user. Don’t you think you’re a prime suspect?'
"He’s saying this with a straight face. I had taken like 70 at-bats. Anybody can get hot and hit .400 with 70 at-bats. I was stunned. I’m like, I’m Dominican? I fit the profile? Are you kidding me?
"I wanted to kill this guy. But you can’t react. That’s what they want. They want you to get angry so they can bury you. So I just smiled at him and asked for his address.
"Why do you want my address?" he said.
“Because I just got tested two days ago.” I said. “I’ll mail you the f****ing results.”
Ortiz hit 30 home runs in 2013, and took home World Series MVP honors that fall.
But if he didn't get his last laugh then, he's probably enjoying it now.
