Jon Lester recalls favorite David Ortiz memory as Papi nears retirement

SAN DIEGO — Leading up to David Ortiz’s final All-Star Game at Petco Park, I asked a few of his current and former teammates about their favorite memories of Ortiz. Chicago Cubs All-Star left-hander Jon Lester, who won two World Series titles in Boston alongside Ortiz during their nine seasons together, told me that his favorite Big Papi moment came during the 2013 American League Championship Series.

“I think the coolest one that I saw was Game 2 of the ALCS against the Tigers,” Lester said. “[Ortiz] came in all dressed up, and we weren’t leaving until the next day. [Dustin] Pedroia was giving him crap. He was like, ‘David, you stupid idiot, we’re not leaving until tomorrow. Today’s not a travel day.’”

“He goes, ‘I know, Pedey,’” Lester said. “I wore this for my press conference afterwards. He’s like, ‘I’m gonna do something special tonight. I need to be ready for my press conference.’ Being David, he ends up hitting the game-tying grand slam and we ended up winning that game. If we don’t win that game, it puts us in a bad, bad spot for that series.”

The Red Sox, after losing Game 1 to Detroit at Fenway Park, were trailing 5-1 in the bottom of the eighth inning when Ortiz hit a grand slam off Joaquin Benoit that tied the game. Boston later won on a Jarrod Saltalamacchia walk-off single, evening the series at one game apiece.

Ortiz’s home run is one of the signature moments of his long career, and left the indelible image of Boston police officer Steve Horgan celebrating while Tigers outfielder Torii Hunter flipped over the fence into the Red Sox bullpen. The Red Sox went on to win their third World Series in 10 years, with Ortiz being named World Series MVP for the first time.

For Lester, Ortiz’s pregame premonition stands alone among countless great memories.

“There’s too many,” Lester when asked about his favorite memories of playing with Ortiz. “But that’s probably the main one that sticks out.”