Thursday night, Red Sox DH David Ortiz will play his final regular season game at Camden Yards. The two teams could still meet in the postseason, of course, but that's far from a guarantee at this point.
Like every other team this season, the Orioles honored Big Papi prior to Thursday's game with a video montage and some gifts. The showed a video of Ortiz hitting home runs against the Yankees so both O's and Red Sox fans at Camden Yards could enjoy.
The O's also gave Ortiz two gifts. First, they donated $10,000 in his name to a charity that helps critically ill children in the Dominican Republic. Secondly, they gave him the bullpen phone he smashed in 2013. Check it out:
Our gift to David Ortiz, the exact authenticated visiting dugout phone he smashed on July 27, 2013. #Birdlandpic.twitter.com/QygTYmW13m
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) September 22, 2016
I'm sure you're familiar with the tirade that destroyed that bullpen phone, but, if not, here's the video of Ortiz taking out some frustration on the phone three years ago:
Why did the Orioles save the broken phone for three years? Beats me. I guess for this exact moment. And people say the O's have no long-term plan. Here's the full ceremony:
Ortiz, by the way, is a career .261/.365/.514 hitter with 30 home runs in 121 games at Camden Yards. Huh. I would have guessed his numbers were better. The O's had some really bad pitching back during the 2000s.
Anyway, well done Orioles. Clever gift, clever video, and a nice donation to charity. That's how farewell ceremonies should go.
