David Ortiz will be playing in his 10th and final All-Star Game Tuesday night, and the Boston Red Sox slugger will have a great chance to go out with a bang if he faces Jose Fernandez.
On Monday, Fernandez told ESPN’s Marly Rivera that he is planning to groove a few pitches for Ortiz if the two end up squaring off.
“I would love to face David,” Fernandez said. “It would be a dream come true for me. I told him yesterday that I am going to throw him three fastballs down the middle. I want to watch him hit a home run.”
Fernandez has a tremendous fastball that typically reaches the upper 90s, but he says he’ll take something off of it for Big Papi.
“No — 90 miles per hour,” he said. “So there is no chance that he fouls them or misses them.”
It’s tough to tell if Fernandez was joking. As you know, the MLB All-Star Game “counts” now, as the winning team gets home-field advantage in the World Series. Still, there is a certain lightheartedness about the game every year. The game also counted two years ago when one star NL pitcher admitted he grooved a pitch to Derek Jeter. Something similar happened in 2001 when Cal Ripken Jr. went yard in his final All-Star Game.
For the most part, guys care about having a good time more than they care about the potential of their team having an extra home game in the World Series. Expect that theme to continue on Tuesday night.
