David Ortiz Appears to Clap Back at Pedro Martinez Over Devers Fiasco

Pedro Martinez pitched for the Red Sox from 1998 through 2004, winning two Cy Young Awards in those seven years, to go with the one he won in the National League pitching for the Montreal Expos in 1997, and was easily the greatest Red Sox pitcher since Roger Clemens.

David "Big Papi" Ortiz played for the team from 2003 to his retirement after the 2016 season, primarily as a designated hitter though he also played 146 games at first base in his 14 Boston seasons. 

He belted 483 home runs in a Red Sox uniform, second only to the great Ted Williams (521), and his career Boston OPS of .956 ranks fourth in Red Sox history, surpassed only by Williams (1.116), Depression-era great Jimmie Foxx (1.034) and another Ortiz Red Sox teammate, Manny Ramirez (.999).

As natives of the Dominican Republic who were unheralded as prospects and overlooked early in their careers for their alleged physical flaws, Martinez and Ortiz bonded quickly and have remained close friends. 

But after Ortiz criticized Devers, also a Dominican native, this week over his behavior toward the Red Sox organization — conduct that ultimately played a significant role in Devers being shipped to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for four young players — Martinez ripped into his friend in an online interview.

"Big Papi also made a mistake in spring training by speaking in front of the cameras about some of the things he needed to tell Devers," Martinez said in the interview. "That should've been handled in-house. ... That was the first mistake by Big Papi."

Ortiz also said that Devers appears to have trouble keeping lines of communication open, and that the 28-year-old three-time All-Star’s “ego” played a role in his problems with the team. Martinez also criticized Ortiz over those remarks.

On Friday, Ortiz would not let the matter go, with an Instagram post that could be interpreted as a response to Martinez’ attacks.

In the post, Ortiz describes the Red Sox as the “best organization in baseball,” and writes that in Boston, “you have to just not be a hitter, you have to be the full package.”