AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: RED SOX v YANKEES

October 20, 2004

David Ortiz

DAVID ORTIZ: Well, you know how long this team and the fans here have been waiting for this ballclub to go to the World Series. Not just to go to the World Series, but to win the World Series. Last year, I remember we had a bad memory. So a lot of my teammates were just destroyed because we played a pretty good game and we lost and it was a big-time opportunity to step to the World Series, and another thing was that the first game we played in Boston, we lost in one series. We saw a lot of fans crying and feeling hurt and I think myself and all of my teammates, we were worried about it and kept that for ourselves. And that's one of the big reasons for us to come to the field and represent the way we did the last four games.

DAVID ORTIZ: Well, I tell you, one day I was driving from my house to the stadium on a work-out day and I saw a big sign on the street that said "Keep the faith." And I saw it was a photo of Manny, it had the big smile. I just parked in front of the photo and I just sat down for a minute and just thought about it, you know, we've been through the whole year. Then I went to the field and I just expressed myself to my teammates about what the Boston nation has been waiting for us and what they expect from us. So it doesn't matter if we are down 3-0. We just have got to keep the faith like that one piece you were saying in "Keep on Going," because the game is not over till the last out.

DAVID ORTIZ: I tried to keep him away from his fiancee. (Laughter.) And the way he hit, I told him, "Hey, Michelle, listen, you are sleeping in somebody else's room. (Laughter.) You've got to stay away from my boy for the next couple of days." And I think it helped. Look at my man today. (Laughter.) No, it happened for real, but I don't know what he did. I just, I always expect that from Johnny. I don't care if Johnny is 0-for-30 or 0-for-50. Everybody knows what kind of hitter Johnny is and everybody knows that Johnny is going to step in in one of those games and represent the way he did tonight.