Red Sox DH David Ortiz has spent parts of 20 seasons in the majors. Coming into Sunday’s action, he had attempted 25 stolen bases and been successful in 16 of them for a subpar 65 percent success rate. Surprisingly, the 40-year-old already stole a base this season, occurring back on April 15 against the Blue Jays. He added another one to his ledger on Sunday facing the Mariners.
In the seventh inning, Mariners reliever Edwin Diaz intentionally walked David Ortiz with two outs. So what does Ortiz do? As Diaz fired a 1-0 fastball to Hanley Ramirez, Ortiz broke for second and swiped the base without a throw.
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Ortiz finished the game 1-for-3 with a single. In his farewell season, he’s carrying a ridiculous .342/.423/.710 triple-slash line with 18 home runs and 59 RBI in 265 plate appearances.
Ortiz has had multiple stolen bases in a season only two other times: in 2007 and in 2013. What do those seasons have in common? The Red Sox won the World Series.
