David Ortiz on Rafael Devers, Boston Red Sox and chemistry

• Sports

Red Sox legend David Ortiz visited the team during spring training. He came there as motivation for the players, and spoke about various topics. He put the emphasis on the chemistry between the players “I’ve been around for a minute and this is the perfect time to basically speak to the guys about your experience and what you went through and what this organization is all about,” said Ortiz, as quoted by mlb.com “Everything began in the clubhouse with good chemistry, you know, and the guys looking out for each other and coming prepared every day to perform at the highest level”.

Ortiz was delighted when the club signed Rafael Devers. He has great optimism about him and will try to be the person who will work together with Devers. “I'm planning to get a little bit more involved with him, based on my experience, based on him being a Dominican fella,” Ortiz said.

“His mentality is like a kid. He likes to go out there and have fun and play the game. The way we get to be raised as a baseball player coming from the Dominican Republic, your priority is just playing baseball. That is your major priority”.

David Ortiz on Rafael Devers

Ortiz also spoke about Devers' role that he will have. There will be enormous pressure on him that he will have to deal with. “You start adding things to his [plate] and sometimes players don’t feel comfortable dealing with it.

In this case, it’s gotta be different because he’s the face of the organization, the face of the franchise. So at some point you need to start learning how to get there. And that's why the organization is just making sure that happens”.

Many underestimate the Boston Red Sox in the next season and believe that they will be at the bottom of the table. Ortiz doesn't think so. “You know what, I like the underdog type of thing. Not many people pay attention to you, they focus on the big dog,” said Ortiz.

“And that's when the underdog shows up and they do what we have done in the past. We’ll see. I hope everybody stays healthy. That's been an issue the past couple of years”.