The best season of the year is baseball season. That's right; not summer, not winter, no — it's baseball season. I've watched baseball every week with my family for as long as I can remember and, like many other people from Massachusetts, I am a die-hard Red Sox fan. I swear I was born wearing a Red Sox jersey.
I went to my first Red Sox game when I was just six-years-old. My younger sister and I rocked the pink Red Sox hats and the matching pink jerseys. The jerseys had #34 on the back, of course, for our favorite player: David "Big Papi" Ortiz. Every time Papi came up to bat that game, we screamed our little heads off. We were so happy to be at Fenway Park and even happier to see Big Papi in person. Going to that game and seeing my hero in person is one of the best memories of my childhood.
Years later, through Red Sox Nation, my dad won the coolest tickets to a game at Fenway Park: Tom Werner's seats, which are right next to the Red Sox dugout in the first row. Those seats were insane. They brought us free food and we got to meet Terry Francona, Wally the Green Monster and some players. However, the highlight of the whole game was getting a high-five from Ortiz. He was walking back to the dugout after being stranded on base and my sister and I yelled to him as he walked by and he high-fived us! It was so awesome that I cried. The Red Sox ended up winning the game and I couldn't have asked for a better day.
A few weeks ago, on October 10, Ortiz played his final game at Fenway Park. I was lucky enough to be there and I can't even begin to explain what it felt like to be in the crowd that night. Every time Big Papi came up to bat, the whole stadium stood up and cheered until his at-bat was over. The insane amount of positivity and love for Ortiz that night blew my mind. It made me think about how much he has done for the people of Red Sox Nation and the kind of idol he was for kids just like me.
Ortiz has so many highlights that I don't even have time to list them all, but I will say that he was such an instrumental player for the Red Sox since he was traded to us in 2003 — thank you for that one, Minnesota Twins. When he retired this year, he was the only remaining player from the 2004 World Series team and that rocks. He was a huge part of ending our 86-year drought and he was an even bigger part in giving us two more World Series rings in 2007 and 2013. He was the Most Valuable Player in 2013, too.
Papi is so important to Red Sox fans and to the city of Boston; who can forget his speech after the Boston Marathon bombings? Just thinking about that day gives me chills. However, most importantly, he is my idol. Ortiz is someone who I have looked up to since I was young and first began watching baseball. He was always a stand-up guy and a phenomenal baseball player. I am so grateful to have grown up admiring such an amazing player and person. I was heartbroken to see him retire this year, but cannot thank him enough for the unbelievable career that he has had in a Red Sox uniform. He is easily one of the greatest players to ever have the honor of wearing that uniform and I will treasure my old pink one forever. Thank you for everything, Big Papi.
