Really Big Papi

Some of us were worried about David Ortiz in spring training.

It looks like we were wrong. Here are some stats from the AL leader board.

Batting average; .348 (third).
Slugging: .614 (second).
On-base plus slugging: 1.026 (second).
Hits: 46 (third).
Doubles: 14 (first). Doubles?
Runs created: 33 (second).
Extra base hits: 21 (second).

The killer stat is Offensive Win percentage, defined as the percentage of games a team would win if all nine batters were this player: .804 (third in the league).

I can't recall a time when Ortiz was performing this well, in this broad a range of categories. He's been on fire. He would lead in several of these, except for the fact that Josh Hamilton is chasing history so far, and Derek Jeter is hitting at a level we haven't seen from him in a long time.

And Papi has done all this with only seven home runs (which is a solid number and leads the Sox, but three guys have 11, and Hamilton has a staggering 18). This just doesn't happen; DHs are not known for becoming more well-rounded.

After all the drama about his contract over the winter, so far it looks like Sox got a bargain.