David Ortiz: I was born to play against the Yankees

As David Ortiz comes into Yankee Stadium for the final time in his career, he penned somewhat of a thank you letter to New York and Yankees fans prior to Tuesday night's game. Ortiz admitted that he does have some love for Yankee fans, who have been very vocal about their feelings for him over the years:

Listen, Yankee fans. I gotta admit something to you. And I’m serious about this. I got love for you. It’s just a little bit of love, but I do.

Ortiz also said that when he first came to this country and was trying to make it to the big leagues, he looked at players like Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera and tried to model himself after them - the way they went about their business and how they respected the game:

When I came to this country and I was trying to make it to the big leagues, I looked at guys like Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, and I was almost in awe. When I got to play against the Yankees my first few years, I would watch some of the things Jeter would do in the field like I was just a fan. I learned a lot from watching DJ. I never got to tell him that when he was playing, but I did. The way he handled his business, and how much respect he had for this game, it made me want to be a better player. For real, I looked forward to hitting doubles against the Yankees so I could get to second base and say what’s up to DJ. He never said too much. If I wasn’t hitting good, he might say something like, “How you doing? Haven’t seen you in a while.”

Ortiz touched on the rivalry between the Yankees and Red Sox over the years, which was probably at it's peak in the early-to-mid 00's. He said that some players are born to be Yankees, but he was born to play against them. Against the Yankees in his career, Ortiz has hit .305/.396/.569 with 52 homers and 166 RBI in 236 games. The most interesting part of the piece was when Ortiz described what Boston means to him, and how the Red Sox allowed him to be himself:

Boston is not just my team. Boston is my city. I consider myself a Bostonian, and it’s the thing I’m most proud of in the world. The Red Sox let me be me. You see my beard? The Yankees wouldn’t let me have that beard. I’d be shaving twice a day. But it goes beyond that. The Red Sox let me say what I feel. They let me be myself. If I was a Yankee, I’d be just like my boy, DJ. You know, “One game at a time.” ?

This post on the Players' Tribune is sure to be met with vitriol from Yankee fans, who have seen Ortiz destroy the Yankees for the past 14 years. The Yankees announced a few weeks ago that they will honor the 40-year-old DH with a pregame ceremony on Thursday. It'll be interesting to see the kind of reception he gets. Check out Ortiz's full post on the Players' Tribune here.