In a game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at Boston's Fenway Park on
April 19, 2006, "Big Papi" Ortiz was paid the ultimate compliment to a
slugger when Devil Rays manager Joe Maddon made a shift of his fielders
so that Ortiz faced five rather than the normal three outfielders. At
the bottom of the first inning of the game, which the Red Sox
eventually won 7-4, the Devil Rays' defense shifted, leaving only the
shortstop and the first baseman in the infield. The third baseman
played left field, the left fielder positioned himself in left-center,
the second baseman played shallow right, the center fielder shaded
toward right, and the right fielder played down the line. Ortiz
grounded to short in the first, but doubled off the Wall in the third
inning against the shift. Of the shift, Ortiz said "Crazy, man. But
whatever they do, they can't catch the ball if you hit it off the Green
Monster," referring to the 37-foot wall in left field. The Red Sox had
runners on base in Ortiz' other at- bats, forcing the Rays to stick
with the over-shift that's usually in play when the slugger comes to
the plate. Only the very best hitters, like the late great
Ted Williams and
superstar
Barry Bonds are subjected to such radical fielding strategies.
