David Ortiz believes his power swing is all the way back. After a big finish in the Home Run Derby, Boston’s beloved slugger has a trophy to prove it.
Big Papi won his first derby title Monday night, hitting 11 homers in the final round to beat Florida’s Hanley Ramirez at Angel Stadium.
Showing plenty of potency in the fierce swing that once made him one of the majors’ most feared hitters, the Red Sox star put a relentless series of drives into the elevated stands above the right-field wall.
With Yankees bench coach Tony Pena crossing rivalry lines to feed fastballs straight into his wheelhouse, Ortiz hit 21 homers in the first two rounds of his fourth derby before holding off Ramirez to emerge from a field missing most of baseball’s top power hitters.
“This is my fourth time, so I just kind of used the experience,” Ortiz said. “I wanted to come here and make sure the fans enjoy what we do.”
