When it comes to Chris Sale, David Ortiz is apparently having a hard time believing.
“Unbelievable man, unbelievable,” Ortiz said Saturday night at The Charmed Foundation gala at the Mandarin Oriental hotel. “Unbelievable. But I know it was coming. I knew it was coming. That’s why I got so excited when we got him. He’s an unbelievable pitcher, he’s going to help us out a lot.
“You know, (David) Price, whenever he gets back. It’s just the beginning of the season. … Everybody’s going to be fine, we’re going to start winning ball games. Sale’s going to continue striking out 20 per game. It’s fun to watch man.”
Ortiz dodged a question of how Sale compares to Pedro Martinez.
Ortiz talked baseball only briefly on Saturday, when he arrived at a charity event to surprise Maverick Schutte, the young Wyoming boy battling through myriad medical problems whom Ortiz befriended last April.
Ortiz promised Schutte, who has a congenital heart condition and lung defect, that he would hit a home run for him against the Yankees — and Ortiz followed through in the eighth inning of a 4-2 win on April 29.
The two were reunited Saturday.
Boston Red Sox
“It was wonderful,” Ortiz said of the home run. “Me and Maverick we go way back. It’s always good seeing him.”
Big Papi said he’s watched the 2017 Red Sox a few times, and that the questions haven’t stopped about his playing status.
No, he hasn’t changed his mind.
“It’s over, you know?” Ortiz said. “I’m going Hollywood now.”
“I’ve been busy man. I‘ve been all over the place. Whenever I have some time off, I’m just at home chilling.”
If retirement was supposed to make Ortiz fat and slovenly, he's avoided that look thus far, looking trim relative to his build.
"I’m trying man," Ortiz said. "I’m trying to keep it real."
Ortiz didn’t say much about the current team, except that he thinks there’s chemistry brewing.
“Got a good ball club,” Ortiz said. “I think everybody’s going to be fine. Can see good chemistry going on in the dugout.
“To me that’s very important and I’m pretty sure they’re going to bounce back and it’s going to be alright.”
Red Sox president Sam Kennedy told CSNNE earlier this month he thinks an official job for Ortiz with the Red Sox could wait until later in the year, if not next year. Ortiz didn’t hint otherwise.
“We’re talking,” Ortiz said. “I’ve been so busy right now. We’re talking. … I want to have time for it.”
Charmed stands for Children and Athletes Regenerative Medicine. Schutte and Ortiz on Saturday were named co-recipient son the foundation’s Courage Award. The foundation wants to accelerate the development of regenerative therapies to help the body heal itself.