Rays pitcher rips David Ortiz: ‘I never saw Hank Aaron flip his bat’

Jul 27, 2014; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz (34) walks back to the dugout after he striking out during the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 27, 2014; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz (34) walks back to the dugout after he striking out during the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz crushed a pitch for a home run against the divisional rival Tampa Bay Rays. Afterwards, Ortiz did what home run hitters do afterwards and flipped his bat.

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Tampa Bay Rays starter Chris Archer ripped Ortiz and suggested a lack of class by comparing him to the legendary Hank Aaron who hit a lot of home runs, more than any player aside from Barry Bonds.

“I never saw Hank Aaron flip his bat,” Archer told the Associated Press. “I’m not comparing the two, but they’re obviously in the same class of players as far what they accomplished.

“Agitated is not right word,” he said. “Angry is not the right word. He pimped a home run off me. Not mad, just speak the truth.”

He wasn’t the only one in the Rays’ organization to to compare Ortiz to a different era.

“The simple answer is, what if it had happened in the ’60s when (Bob) Gibson was pitching, or (Don) Drysdale was pitching?” Joe Maddon told the AP. “We’ll see how it all plays out.”

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