It’s hard to tell the story of Major League Baseball without David Ortiz - widely known as “Big Papi” - the 2022 Baseball Hall of Fame inductee and three time World Series winner has undoubtedly made his mark on the game, but now it’s time for his son, D’Angelo to step up to the plate and carry on his own legacy here in Salem.
“I’m always talking to him,” said D’Angelo, who some have dubbed “Little Papi”. “If he’s not here in person, we’re on the phone and just kind of talking about stuff that he’s been through, right? Like stuff that might be my first time going through. I’ve seen him go through, but I kind of need that reassurance of just, it happens, it’s part of the game. Just trying to deal with, you know, taking it day by day.”
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While D’Angelo may have grown up in the bright lights of Boston enjoying his father’s stardom, it’s not lost on him just how special of a baseball community Salem is.
“I know that a lot of people here in this community take a lot of pride in this team and coming here to these games and now obviously we got these new uniforms, they’re going to have new merchandise and it’s just playing to the best ability we can and taking some pride in these uniforms.”
The RidgeYaks began their season on Thursday with a win over Delmarva. Ortiz was 2-4 with a single and two stolen bases.