All things considered, one would assume 2009 was a season Red Sox slugger David Ortiz would rather forget. Ortiz said as much Tuesday in an interview on Dominican radio.
"I'm not satisfied with the final numbers, but considering the way I started, I would say yes, even though I'm not satisfied as a whole," Ortiz said in Spanish on radio station Supra 101.7 FM. "I had many limitations at the start of the year, family concerns and many other things. It got to the point where I was confused as to what I wanted to do."
Ortiz began the season in a horrific slump and was hitting .188 with only one home run as of June 5. He finished the year with solid power numbers (28 homers, 99 RBIs), though his .238 average was his lowest in seven seasons with Boston.
Ortiz also was dogged by a July report in The New York Times that he tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003. The results of that test were supposed to be anonymous and are now under court seal.
"The thing about the list affected me a lot, I have to admit it," Ortiz said. "But at one point I saw it as a business scheme because some people came up pointing the finger in a newspaper and then nobody wanted to show their face. I went to MLB and also to the union, and nobody knew anything at the beginning.
"The best evidence that I have always been clean is that from 2004 forward, I have been tested 24 times for steroids and I've never been positive or anything."
Ortiz said that during the tough times, he got some much-appreciated support from Sox owner John Henry and the front office.
"When things went from bad to worse, a lot was said that I was a trading piece; the owner waited for me in the tunnel at Fenway Park and told me, 'I am the owner of this team. Those comments about you being traded are false. Go and do your job.'"
Still, Ortiz is already looking forward to next season.
"My hand is fine and I am healthy, which is the most important thing. In the winter, I'll do the routine I've been doing for years, and sadly that doesn't include playing winter ball."
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.
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