David Ortiz played for three different championship teams in Boston. He's been around plenty of successful squads.
But the retired slugger still is blown away by what he sees in Alex Cora's Red Sox.
Ortiz, who's been with the team in Fort Myers for the last two days, shared a great story Saturday at JetBlue Park that offers great insight into what makes the defending World Series champions so special.
"While they were stretching, I was going to go (BS) with them and I took a couple of steps and I was like, ‘Let me just listen to what they’re talking about’ — they were talking about nothing but hitting," Ortiz told reporters, via the Boston Herald's Michael Silverman.
“I remember before while you were stretching, you’d mess around, talk trash. These guys are locked in. I was standing up right there just listening to the conversations for about half an hour. Didn’t say anything. They were talking about mechanics, hands, how to approach and this and that."
That the Red Sox were so focused with the regular season nearly a month away left a big impression on Big Papi.
"What that tells you is that these guys, they’re not trying to miss a beat," he added. "They’re not trying to waste their time. They’re in the first week of spring training and you look at what the conversation is, you know what I’m saying?
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“These kids are acting like they finished the season in last place last year. I love that because that means they’re still hungry, they want more and they will not get nothing but better and better and better.
"I’m happy with what I see, dog, to be honest with you."
By Ortiz's observations, the Red Sox's obsession with improvement starts with J.D. Martinez, Boston's All-Star designated hitter whose attention to detail is the stuff of legends.
"J.D., man, J.D. is like the center, the mother hen," Ortiz said. "He’s the one who everybody is like getting feed from, you know what I’m saying, because he’s a psychopath."
... In a good way, of course.
"This dude is on another level of being good and wanting to be better," Ortiz added. "That’s one thing I enjoy the most when I’m around here is just watching the way he handles himself and the way he helps the rest of the squad."
The 43-year-old Ortiz officially is employed by the Red Sox as a "special assistant" and on other clubs could act as voice of wisdom or motivation. But as Boston aims to become the first team since the 2000 New York Yankees to repeat as champs, Ortiz is convinced this group doesn't need much hand-holding.
"Just watching the guys doing their thing and coming in, I tried not to be in their way much because I respect that," Ortiz said.
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