Big Papi is Finding His Groove

Most of this season Bob Ryan has been calling Papi a “warning track hitter”, lamenting the loss of power that came with the knee injury he’s planning on having repaired in the off season.  His home run numbers were seriously down after breaking the Red Sox single season record last year.  He’d become a doubles hitter.

And to make matters worse, he wasn’t coming through in the clutch.  Though he had an average over .300 all season, he didn’t seem to get any hits when they were down late in the game.  To be fair, they were able to pitch around him as Manny struggled.

But….

Papi’s power has come back.  His homerun pace has increased in the last month or so.  And tonight his second as a walk off, as the Sox swept the Rays to remain 5 games up on the Yankees. 

“But beginning with a home run in the first game of a day-night doubleheader against the Angels Aug. 17, followed the next day by a grand slam, Ortiz has hit 12 home runs in 94 at-bats, a ratio of 1 every 7.8 at-bats. In short, he has become Ortiz again,…”

This is what we have been waiting for- the return of Big Papi, striking fear in the hearts of pitchers.

Just in time.