David Ortiz in the NESN broadcast booth

fineyoungarm

tweets about his subwoofer!
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Oct 20, 2011
9,187
New Orleans, LA
The reports about this getting closer to being a reality continue. I am ambivalent. The pro is - '"it's Big Papi, of course he should get a shot!" The anti is that commentators, who don't have it, get attacked constantly - and it's often not pretty. Maybe Ortiz would be given a pass, if he is mediocre or worse, but not necessarily. It could get unpleasant.
 

mauf

Anderson Cooper × Mr. Rogers
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It doesn't seem like it would be that hard, but the only commentator I can think of who is not a native English speaker is Pedro. (I'm not counting guys who grew up in Puerto Rico and speak flawless English, because I assume they grew up speaking both English and Spanish.) Needless to say, Papi's command of English is not on par with Pedro's. I could see it working as a novelty for a few games, but not on a regular basis.
 
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fineyoungarm

tweets about his subwoofer!
SoSH Member
Oct 20, 2011
9,187
New Orleans, LA
I received his ghost written book as a gift several years ago. Basically, it was a long interview. Could not get through it. Source of my concern. In any event he has my support.
 

CR67dream

blue devils forevah!
Dope
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Oct 4, 2001
7,234
I'm going home
The reports about this getting closer to being a reality continue. I am ambivalent. The pro is - '"it's Big Papi, of course he should get a shot!" The anti is that commentators, who don't have it, get attacked constantly - and it's often not pretty. Maybe Ortiz would be given a pass, if he is mediocre or worse, but not necessarily. It could get unpleasant.
This is definitely worth talking about, but when starting threads like this, please cite/ link to the reports you speak of, or at least one of them.

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/local_coverage/2017/02/retired_david_ortiz_has_open_seat_in_nesn_booth

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/red_sox/2017/02/buckley_let_s_get_david_ortiz_into_the_nesn_tv_booth

I'd friggin' love this, by the way.
 

fineyoungarm

tweets about his subwoofer!
SoSH Member
Oct 20, 2011
9,187
New Orleans, LA
This is definitely worth talking about, but when starting threads like this, please cite/ link to the reports you speak of, or at least one of them.

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/local_coverage/2017/02/retired_david_ortiz_has_open_seat_in_nesn_booth

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/red_sox/2017/02/buckley_let_s_get_david_ortiz_into_the_nesn_tv_booth

I'd friggin' love this, by the way.
Will do.
This is definitely worth talking about, but when starting threads like this, please cite/ link to the reports you speak of, or at least one of them.

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/local_coverage/2017/02/retired_david_ortiz_has_open_seat_in_nesn_booth

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/red_sox/2017/02/buckley_let_s_get_david_ortiz_into_the_nesn_tv_booth

I'd friggin' love this, by the way.
Will do. (Although the technology is daunting.) See what I mean?
 

timlinin8th

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Jun 6, 2009
1,521
Anything that keeps Steve Lyons out of there is good in my book. Papi can't be much worse.
 

Marbleheader

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Sep 27, 2004
11,726
It will be interesting. Hope it works out. I would rather have Pedro, who is amazing when he visits the booth. With David all I can imagine is Hanley getting hit by a pitch and him saying 'Dat some bullsheet right there.' He obviously knows the game and can speak intelligently about it, which already puts him above replacement level.
 

Buzzkill Pauley

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Jun 30, 2006
10,569
He could and might certainly be.

I appreciate his HOF-worthy contributions to the old town team but am only now getting over the All-Things-Papi overload from last season.

In small doses he might be OK. Small doses. Small.
Now that this appears to be a thing, I need to hear me some Papi and Pedro together in the booth, talking about Manny and Millar.
 

Number45forever

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Apr 16, 2003
1,970
Vermont
Seconded on loving this for the sole fact that it's a glimmer of hope in getting Steve Lyons out of our lives. Pedro would be incredible if he decided to do 20-30 games a year. Sign me up as intrigued to see what Papi can do. He'd certainly bring something different, and his suits for each game would be fantastic, I'm sure.
 

MuzzyField

Well-Known Member
Gold Supporter
SoSH Member
Seconded on loving this for the sole fact that it's a glimmer of hope in getting Steve Lyons out of our lives. Pedro would be incredible if he decided to do 20-30 games a year. Sign me up as intrigued to see what Papi can do. He'd certainly bring something different, and his suits for each game would be fantastic, I'm sure.
He'd be the Grapes of MLB when it comes to suiting up.
 

joe dokes

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Jul 18, 2005
30,243
It will be interesting. Hope it works out. I would rather have Pedro, who is amazing when he visits the booth. With David all I can imagine is Hanley getting hit by a pitch and him saying 'Dat some bullsheet right there.'
Sign me up.
 

metaprosthesis

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SoSH Member
May 22, 2008
199
Central NJ via Western Mass
I'm of two minds about this. I always want more Papi in my life, and I would love to hear him opine about hitting mechanics while wearing well-tailored, bejeweled outfits. On the other hand, as others have noted, language could present an issue in a couple ways. He speaks English well for communicative purposes, but perhaps not so much for professional public speaking beyond rote, post-game platitudes. Also, I imagine they'd have to show the games on a tape delay, with an attentive censor on hand. His recent social media videos supporting the Patriots were pretty much just strings of obscenities.

I'd be happy to see my concerns swept away, though. It will definitely be worth giving him a chance to see how it goes.
 

luckysox

Indiana Jones
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Apr 21, 2009
8,077
S.E. Pennsylvania
No one ever got anywhere telling David Ortiz he could't do something. At the very least, he'd amuse the heck out of us for a short time. Maybe he'd be inappropriate in a traditional broadcasting sense, but I could not care less. Tradition sucks when it includes Steve Lyons. Bringing Papi's laugh and years of experience in baseball into my home a few nights can only be good.
 

joe dokes

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Jul 18, 2005
30,243
Eck's "That's some cheese with hair," would be Papi's "Dass some tough sheet to heet, man." Orsillo would've rolled with it. Obrien's glasses would fog over like the Church Lady.

A booth with only, Pedro, Eck and Papi and no p-b-p would be an awesome experiment.
 

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
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Jan 10, 2004
24,483
The 718
The comparison to Pedro is unfair. Get past the accent and the issue with English as a second language, and Pedro Martinez may be one of the smartest people I've heard discussing an area of expertise. I could listen to him discuss pitching and baseball for hours. His raw brainpower is off the charts. If the man grew up in Scarsdale or Newton or La Jolla instead of under a mango tree, he'd be designing bridges or doing neurology research or sitting as a district court judge.

Ortiz by comparision is a gregarious guy and he can discuss hitting well, but 1) his English is not as good and 2) I don't think he's as insightful as Pedro. Which is not to damn Ortiz by faint praise. Like I said, I think Pedro may be the smartest guy sitting in a sports broadcast booth, period, end of story.