BOSTON — Two Yankees capitalized on a rare day off to visit a wounded friend … who also happens to be an enemy of their team.
David Ortiz, the iconic, retired Red Sox slugger who was shot in his native Dominican Republic on June 9, welcomed countrymen Edwin Encarnacion and Gary Sanchez to his Boston-area home for about three hours Thursday. For Encarnacion, it marked his second meeting with Ortiz since the highly publicized shooting. For Sanchez, it served as an opportunity to salute a mentor.
“It was really nice to see him and see him healthy,” Sanchez said through an interpreter. “Last time I was in Boston, some of the guys went to visit. I had to leave early that series. So I’m glad I had the chance now to see him, thank God, because he’s looking healthy.”
Encarnacion, one of the people who saw Ortiz the last time the Yankees were in Boston in late July, said: “It was better to see him the second time. He looks stronger. He’s walking around. Everything’s normal. It was good to see.”
The Yankees’ designated hitter-first baseman said he has known Ortiz since he debuted in the major leagues in 2005, and that he invited Sanchez to join him because “David wanted to see Gary, too.”
Sanchez sounded happy to oblige, explaining of Ortiz: “He’s always been really good to me. He’s always given me good advice. Even going back to last year, when I was struggling … there were some spots when he gave me really good advice. That’s the kind of person he has always been with me.”
The advice last year?
“He told me to really focus on defense, because he saw that I had the ability to hit,” Sanchez said.
On Instagram, Sanchez posted a photo of himself with Ortiz and wrote, in part, “Wishing you a long life so you can continue to help and inspire future generations.”
“I’ve been watching David since I was a little kid,” Sanchez said. “He and Manny [Ramirez], all those guys, Pedro Martinez. Being from the Dominican Republic, you pay attention to what those guys were doing at the time. He’s not only an inspiration to me, but he’s been an inspiration for many generations, definitely.”