A big celebration for a little Papi

Sam Galanis
Contributing Writer

D’Angelo Ortiz may have had the best ninth birthday ever, thanks to his Papi.

According to Pete Abraham, D’Angelo has been traveling with David Ortiz and the Sox since their series in Anaheim and for the first two games against Seattle. For his birthday on Wednesday, he took batting practice and stretched with the team before the game.

Photo courtesy of the Boston Globe

But Big Papi had something extra planned for his son. In between the third and fourth innings, he came out of the dugout with a cake for D’Angelo, who got to blow out his candles at the park. The Red Sox are a very kid-friendly team, and many players will have their kids around the clubhouse and their sons in the lockerroom. But Abraham said “Ortiz gets a few more perks because he's the senior member of the team. In this case, it was to create a memory his son is sure to treasure.”

And D’Angelo certainly has a lot of great memories after last night’s game. On top of all of his special attention, he got to watch his father become the all-time leader for hits for designated hitters.

"Why do you think I stole that base?" Ortiz said according to Abraham. "I wanted to show him I was still fast."

So here’s a happy birthday to D’Angelo Ortiz from RedSoxLife. Looks like nine is going to be a great year.



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