Watch: Red Sox Slugger David Ortiz Loses It With Ump Over Strike Calls
Big Papi’s tantrum was pretty epic.
Boston Red Sox home run king David Ortiz gets along with everyone. Watch any Sox game and you’ll see the 40-year-old future hall-of-famer chatting amiably with catchers, first basemen, even opposing coaches. During a match-up between the Sox and their long-time enemies the New York Yankees on Friday night, however, Big Papi reminded everyone that he’s also a fearsome competitor, especially if he thinks he and his team have been treated unfairly.
It was a fairly slow-paced pitching duel in Yankees Stadium, played in cold and drizzly conditions. The Sox, at or near the top of the American League East for much of the season so far, had remained tied with the Yankees till late in the game, when the Yankees took a one-point lead, 3-2.
The bases were loaded and Ortiz sidled up to the plate, prepared to do as he’s done many times and play the hero, either with a few runs batted in or at most a grand slam. Umpire Ron Kulpa put a stop to all that, issuing a series of questionable strike calls that ultimately so infuriated the Sox that both manager John Farrell and David Ortiz ended up ejected from the game. Watch Ortiz’s epic tantrum following his strikeout below — short of a base-clearing brawl, this is as intense as baseball gets.
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Even the Yankees expressed dismay with Kulpa’s calls earlier in the game. But baseball moves on and it’s likely Kulpa will keep on doing his thing. And Sox fans hope he perhaps remembers Ortiz’s rage face in his dreams.
h/t Boston Globe
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