In a day marked by emotion and remembrance for the victims and families of the Boston Marathon bombings, David “Big Papi” Ortiz made a memorable return to the lineup this Saturday afternoon when the hometown Boston Red Sox beat the Kansas City Royals for their sixth straight win.
As the longest tenured Red Sox player, Ortiz gave a heartfelt speech prior to the game in front of a sellout crowd of over 37,000 fans. And though his statement was quick, it was clear and directly to the point.
Not only that, but it included some very colorful language as he described who the city of Boston belonged to (NSFW video can be seen here).
And while his choice of words may not have been the most appropriate thing to say in front of a large group of attendees that surely included its fair share of children, you have to admire his emotion and pride for the city where he has made his home for the past 10 seasons in the majors.
Ortiz knocked in Boston’s first run of the game in the bottom of the sixth inning with a single that brought Jacoby Ellsbury in to score and went 2-for-4 on the day with two singles.
No other Red Sox player had more than one hit.
The Red Sox are now first place in the American League East with an 11-4 record, lead Major League Baseball in opposing batting average (.209), are second in team ERA (2.69), are fourth in WHIP (1.13) and are starting to hit the ball consistently in the early part of the 2013 season.
And while many were skeptical about how the Red Sox would perform this season, they, like the city of Boston, are proving all wrong and are showing the world just how “strong” and resilient this team and their fans really are.
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