Brock Holt fit in with a little help from Papi

Sam Galanis
Contributing Writer

Brock Holt has been doing some yo-yoing between Pawtucket and the big leagues this season, and that can’t be an easy adjustment for a young player. But with his latest demotion to make room for top prospect Xander Bogaerts, Holt made sure to give mention to the guy who helped him fit in: David Ortiz.
Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

"Every day he comes in, says hello to everyone," Holt said, according to Comcast SportsNet’s Jessica Camerato. "Everyone knows when he walks into the room, he's loud and has a good personality. I think that makes it more comfortable for everyone to be in here, especially younger guys and new guys. As a newer guy, you kind of feel out of place whenever you get called up so to have a guy like David Ortiz to welcome you and be friendly, it's been great."

When Holt was called up to fill the spot that Jose Iglesias left, he got a locker change as well. He acquired Iglesias’s old locker, which happened to be one down from Big Papi’s. Holt said he tried to respect Ortiz’s space, but Ortiz didn’t want that. Ortiz wanted Holt to be like any other member of the close-knit team.

It’s clear that Papi had a big impact on Holt. He learned from his clubhouse advice and his performance at the plate. And as a country music fan, he even learned to like Ortiz’s hip-hop music (because, as many know, Papi controls the music in the clubhouse).

"He cares about everybody," Holt said. "He likes to have fun and keeps it loose in here. … He's the guy we want up in big situations, and he knows that."




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