David Ortiz reacts to Red Sox picking son D'Angelo in 19th round of 2024 MLB Draft
The Boston Red Sox took a very familiar face in the 19th round of the 2024 MLB Draft — infielder D'Angelo Ortiz out of Miami Dade Community College.
D'Angelo's father? Hall of Famer, Red Sox legend and current MLB on FOX analyst David Ortiz.
The elder Ortiz was in pre-show meetings for the MLB on FOX All-Star pregame show when D'Angelo called him with the news that he was heading to Boston.
"That was unbelievable," David Ortiz said on FOX Tuesday. "When you see your kids moving forward in their lives towards being successful, a lot of motion goes through you."
David then turned towards the camera and addressed his son directly.
"Big boy, let's do it," David said. "Let's keep up the good work. Daddy loves you."
David Ortiz talks the emotions of watching his son being drafted by the Boston Red Sox
David Ortiz was not the only mid-2000s Red Sox star feeling some fatherly pride Tuesday. Two rounds before D'Angelo Ortiz was selected by his dad's old team, the Los Angeles Angels took Florida high school prospect Lucas Ramirez, son of Ortiz's former teammate Manny Ramirez.
David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez were perhaps the most potent power-hitting pair in the MLB during their time in Boston together, combining for 388 home runs from 2003-2007. Ramirez led the majors with 43 homers in 2004, while Ortiz had a league-leading 54 in 2006. The two won nine Silver Sluggers during the span before Ramirez was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2008.
Most famously, Ortiz and Ramirez helped lead the Red Sox to World Series titles in 2004 and ‘07, the first of which broke an 86-year championship drought for the storied franchise.
David Ortiz won a third World Series title with the Red Sox in 2013 and made it to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2021, only waiting the five-year minimum until his induction. Since 2017, Ortiz has been an MLB analyst at FOX Sports, where he now shares the pregame and postgame studio desk with former New York Yankees rivals Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter.
D'Angelo Oritz, 20, plays third base and is listed at 6-foot-1 ,190 pounds. He most recently batted .311/.396/.333 with seven RBI for the Brockton Rox, a collegiate summer league squad.
Lucas Ramirez is a 6-foot-3, 198-pound 18-year-old and had committed to play collegiate baseball at the University of Tennessee, the reigning NCAA basbeall national champions who also boast the consensus top 2024 recruiting class. Instead, however, Lucas is expected to turn pro and sign with the Angels.
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