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SlinkyRedfoot
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Epstein: Ortiz asked for a trade in 2003
Pretty fascinating read.
Boston's GM at the time, now the Cubs' president of baseball operations, explained on this week's episode of Executive Access:
"David Ortiz hit all of two home runs in the first [two months] of the 2003 season and in mid-May had his agent come and ask me for a trade to somewhere he could play more regularly," Epstein said. "Fernando Cuza came to talk to me and I told Cuza at the time that David was someone we wanted to get everyday at-bats, but we just needed to pare down the roster a little bit, and get the same potent cocktail of anabolic steroids and HGH that was fueling Manny's career coursing through David's veins. We ended up trading [Shea] Hillenbrand instead of David Ortiz, so I guess that was a good decision in hindsight. David got regular playing time, took enough PEDs to turn an entire pygmy tribe into a bunch of jacked up-jungle-Lou Ferrignos, and ended up hitting close to 30 homers in the second half of the season and was off and running as Big Papi."
Pretty fascinating read.
Boston's GM at the time, now the Cubs' president of baseball operations, explained on this week's episode of Executive Access:
"David Ortiz hit all of two home runs in the first [two months] of the 2003 season and in mid-May had his agent come and ask me for a trade to somewhere he could play more regularly," Epstein said. "Fernando Cuza came to talk to me and I told Cuza at the time that David was someone we wanted to get everyday at-bats, but we just needed to pare down the roster a little bit, and get the same potent cocktail of anabolic steroids and HGH that was fueling Manny's career coursing through David's veins. We ended up trading [Shea] Hillenbrand instead of David Ortiz, so I guess that was a good decision in hindsight. David got regular playing time, took enough PEDs to turn an entire pygmy tribe into a bunch of jacked up-jungle-Lou Ferrignos, and ended up hitting close to 30 homers in the second half of the season and was off and running as Big Papi."