Alex Cora talks about the loss of Andrew Benintendi and why decisions like these are never easy
David Ortiz built an incredible major league career on an ability to mash home runs. But the former Boston Red Sox slugger believes the demand for power in today's game has gone too far.
Ortiz made some pointed comments about the current state of Major League Baseball in an interview with The Boston Globe's Peter Abraham over the weekend.
"To me it’s messed up," Ortiz told Abraham. "The game has changed a lot. Coaches only want kids to hit home runs and that’s all they practice because they want to get paid.
With our All Access Daily newsletter, stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Boston sports teams!
SIGN UP HERE “We used to want to develop great hitters. Now it’s all strikeouts with some home runs and it’s straight-up [expletive] boring. If you could bet in Vegas that the next hitter was going to strike out, you’d take it every time."
Tomase: Stats are great, but can any of Red Sox' new additions play?
The numbers support Ortiz's complaint. While home run totals have gradually risen over the past decade, strikeouts have skyrocketed: MLB broke its strikeout record for the 12th consecutive year in 2019 when a total of 48,823 batters whiffed.
Ortiz wasn't exactly a contact hitter, recording six seasons of at least 100 strikeouts and getting K'ed a career-high 145 times in 2010. But Big Papi believes the difference in today's game is that strikeouts aren't viewed as negatively, so long as long balls come with them.
Boston Red Sox
Find the latest Boston Red Sox news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Boston.
"I struck out 100 times a few times in my career and I was [upset]," Ortiz told Abraham. "Now everybody does it. I see kids now taking BP and all they work on is running into a home run. Everybody is swinging out of their ass.
"It’s not good for the game. ... We used to be criticized for taking big swings in certain situations. Now that’s all they want every time. It’s hard to watch for me."
The rise of the "all or nothing" approach is tied in part to the rise of analytics: There's data to suggest swinging for the fences is the most efficient way to score runs, similar to NBA teams relying more heavily on 3-point shots.
But more home runs and strikeouts means fewer balls in play, which isn't exactly fun to watch. And as interest in baseball wanes, Ortiz's comments may resonate with those in the MLB commissioner's office, which recently hired former Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein to help improve the game.
Perhaps Ortiz's next call should be to his old boss as baseball looks to improve its product.