David Ortiz: ' I Don't Like Spring Training Games'
BOSTON (CBS) -- Spring training games can be delightful for baseball fans -- particularly ones from New England. The games down in sunny Florida are a welcome destination for many folks who are eager to escape the cold, and seeing their favorite players after a long winter is always a welcome sight.
But for the players, and particularly the veterans, spring training games just don't quite get the juices flowing.
Just ask David Ortiz.
The Red Sox designated hitter is not in the lineup on Wednesday as the Sox host the Twins, just as Ortiz missed out on the annual St. Patrick's Day game on Tuesday.
On Wednesday morning, WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Jonny Miller asked Ortiz why he's not in the lineup for the second straight day.
"I don't like spring training games, just to begin with," Ortiz said. "But besides that, I got a little dehydrated the other day, so they're just taking care of that. It'll be fine."
Miller then asked: "It's not because you're old, is it?"
Ortiz laughed: "That too!"
The 39-year-old Ortiz has played in more than 2,100 real games in Major League Baseball, plus another 82 postseason games, so it's understandable that he doesn't hold March practice games in the highest regard. Last year in spring training, he hit a whopping .054, which didn't stand in the way of him eventually hitting 35 homers and driving in 104 runs during the regular season.
Despite Ortiz's public distaste for spring training, manager John Farrell said that the designated hitter does actually need this brief time off.
"We're looking to give a little bit of a blow to some guys here, and David's one of them," Farrell said. "We have to monitor -- the last couple of days, we've had some guys come out with some cramps, and we have to be careful that we don't overload them at this point of time in the year and just get them through it."
Farrell said hydration is a focal point on all players, not just with Ortiz.
"It might sound a little crazy, but the intensity that we're going at in the mornings -- guys have been putting in very good work, and we've got to monitor it and back off when needed. So we're getting a little bit of that phase right now. ... We're backing off [Ortiz] for a few days to kind of catch back up."
