David Ortiz can’t handle all of Aly Raisman’s medals (Video)
By John Buhler
David Ortiz jokingly buckles when he has to wear all of Aly Raisman’s Olympic medals before she throws out the first pitch at Fenway Park on Friday night.
Before Friday night’s game between the Kansas Royals and the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman threw out the ceremonial first pitch. Before throwing the first pitch, she asked Red Sox slugger David Ortiz if he would be so kind to wear her three Olympic medals from the 2016 Rio Games around his neck before she took the mound.
As Ortiz walked behind the plate to catch Raisman’s ceremonial first pitch, he jokingly buckled from all the weight around his neck in terms of Olympic medal. Raisman is a native of Massachusetts and grew up cheering for the Red Sox so this had to be as big of a treat for her as it was for him.
This follows Washington Nationals’ Bryce Harper who held swimmer Katie Ledecky’s medals as she tossed out the first pitch earlier this week.
You can watch video of Raisman and Big Papi bonding over the medals below.
Ortiz is beloved in Boston, as he is the only player to star on all three World Series Championship teams this century (2004, 2007, 2013). 2016 is the last year of Ortiz’s illustrious big league career, as he plans to call it quits at season’s end.
Like Raisman, who is 22 years old competing in a sport full of teenagers, Ortiz is at worst going to retire a three-time champion in his sport. Of Raisman’s six Olympic medals, three were gold.
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With his career winding to a close, Ortiz is still finding different ways to have fun on the baseball diamond. His reaction to having to carry all of Raisman’s medals around his neck is priceless. Baseball isn’t going to be the same when he hangs up the spikes this winter.