Photo: US Press Wire
After the Boston Red Sox unimaginable late-season collapse in 2011, the idea of David Ortiz leaving in free agency came up, but was immediately silenced earlier today as Ortiz accepted the BoSox arbitration offer, locking him in for 2012.Big Papi has arguably been the most iconic figure in the Red Sox clubhouse in his career, and is also one of the longest tenured, as Ortiz has been in Boston since 2003. The often vocal designated hitter has been a large part of the Red Sox offensive success, and is coming off of a good year in 2011.
Ortiz posted a .309 batting average, 29 HR's, and 96 RBI's last season, playing strictly as a designated hitter. Unfortunately, not even Big Papi could help Boston overcome the epic slide which eventually led to the team missing the postseason all together, and calling the year early.
Although the Red Sox failed to make the playoffs, (even after going on an off-season spending spree which included Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez), the team had no questions about wanting to bring Ortiz back. The issue, as it is with most contract disputes, the Red Sox were not offering Ortiz the exact amount of money, or the length he was interested in.
With the arbitration, however, Ortiz will make somewhere in the range of $15 million, even though he was looking for a two-year $25 million contract.
The fact that Ortiz accepted Boston's arbitration proves that he still believes this team can win. Without question there would have been other clubs interested in Ortiz's services, and likely would pay him the contract he desired, and yet he still made the decision to stay in Boston.
Maybe Ortiz has a good feeling about the moves the organization is making, with changes in pitching staff, and the hiring of Bobby Valentine as the new manager. According to reports, Valentine actually flew out to the Dominican Republic to speak with Ortiz individually in person about coming back to Boston in 2012.
As MLB is currently in winter meetings, Ortiz and the Red Sox have plenty of time to practice up and get ready for another season of baseball. Boston looks to bounce back from their collapse and make a run at another title, and luckily, they will still have Big Papi leading the charge in the locker room.
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