David Ortiz is all smiles with his performance this season.
Now 37 years old, David Ortiz is, by conventional baseball standards, in the twilight of his career. It is a time when even the best players typically see their health and performance begin to deteriorate (see: Alex Rodriguez, also age 37), and the words “washed-up” and “past his prime” start getting tossed around. Ortiz, however, is spitting on those labels like a fresh pair of batting gloves and churning out one of the best seasons of his career.
Until this year, Ortiz certainly did seem to be heading down that forlorn path of fading stars in their mid-to-late 30s. He was an offensive machine in the mid-2000s, hitting at least 30 homeruns and driving in 100 or more runs in every season from 2003 to 2007. Injuries limited him to just 109 games in 2008, though, and he hit a paltry .238 in 2009. Then, starting in 2010, the once-fearsome power hitter saw his homerun and RBI totals decline in each subsequent season. Moreover, a nagging Achilles injury limited him to only 90 games in 2012. Diminishing performance? Check. An inability to stay healthy? Check. Ortiz had, by all indications, fallen into the downside of his career.
The 2013 season, though, has seen the Red Sox slugger outperform all expectations. Ortiz has been healthy, his first half offensive production was worthy of a starting spot in the All-Star Game, and he is a big reason the Boston Red Sox sit atop the American League East.
Ortiz’s peripheral numbers at the All-Star Break are stout, even without considering age and recent track record. His 19 homeruns are tied for 15th in baseball – the same number as Adam Jones and Evan Longoria, each of whom are a full 10 years younger than Ortiz. He also ranks 13th with 65 RBIs and has a very realistic chance to drive in 100 for the 7th time in his career. Furthermore, Ortiz is hitting .317, good for 11th best in the Bigs. If he keeps up that clip, it would be Ortiz’s best batting average (in a full, injury-free season) since 2007.
The further you delve into the statistics, the more impressive Ortiz’s performance becomes. He has the 5th highest on-base percentage in the game (.402), higher than the likes of fellow All-Stars Matt Carpenter, Mike Trout, and Chris Davis. Additionally, Ortiz’s wOBA – “one of the most important and popular catch-all offensive statistics,” as per FanGraphs.com – is .418 and 3rd best in baseball, behind only the otherworldly Davis and Miguel Cabrera. Washed up? Past his prime? Hardly.
As for the reason for Ortiz’s surprising success in 2013, that is a little harder to determine. His strikeout rate is a career-low 13%, indicating perhaps a more conservative approach. However, Ortiz does not appear to be swinging at more pitches in the strike zone (2013 Z-Swing: 69.9%, career Z-Swing: 71.4%), nor has he been swinging out fewer pitches out of the strike zone (2013 O-Swing: 25.5%, career O-Swing: 21.1%). If anything, these pitch selection stats indicate that Ortiz has been a bit more aggressive at the plate this season, not conservative.
Ortiz is crushing pretty much anything thrown over the plate this season.
Instead, it is how Ortiz is handling the pitches he swings at that is probably more responsible for his stellar 2013 performance. According to FoxSports.com’s Hot Zone chart, Ortiz is crushing pretty much anything thrown over the plate this season, hitting .300 or better in 7 of the 9 strike zone sections. Most notably, he is hitting for a better average on pitches that are low-away (.414) and middle-away (.355) than pitches in the heart of the plate (.324). This is a testament to Ortiz’s ability to not just handle, but thrive off pitches that most hitters struggle with. While many hitters futilely try to pull these pitches, Ortiz has mastered the art of going with the outside strike and driving balls to the opposite field (with some help from Fenway Park’s generous Green Monster in left). This ability is one of the biggest reasons Ortiz has been and continues to be so productive.
David Ortiz’s legacy in Boston has long been cemented. His vibrant personality, unforgettable postseason heroics, and overall performance have earned the man they affectionately call “Big Papi” an eternal spot on the New England pantheon of sports. However, the ageless way Ortiz has played this year suggests that his storied career in Boston is far from finished.
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Jeff Agar is a sophomore at the University of Notre Dame, majoring in Marketing and Sociology. His dream job is to be marketing director for a Major League Baseball team and/or a professional bullpen catcher, and he really hopes this post doesn’t jinx Big Papi or his Red Sox. Follow him on Twitter: @Jeff_Agar_15
