'What's up, Boston?' Big Papi returns a Hall of Famer

BOSTON -- David Ortiz’s Hall of Fame victory tour landed Tuesday night at Fenway Park, the venue where he became a legend.

And the beloved slugger was fittingly surrounded by many people who helped him there, not to mention the type of amped-up, packed house he played in front of for most of his career.

The timing of the Guardians being in town for this game couldn’t have been better given that manager Terry Francona wrote the name “Ortiz” into his lineup for eight memorable seasons in Boston, two of them (2004, ‘07) ending with World Series championships.

“That was a great night,” Francona said after the Guardians downed the Red Sox, 8-3. “That was a great night that was really fun to sit there and watch David be as impressive as he was. To see that many people show their affection for him was really neat.”

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John Farrell, another Papi favorite and the manager of the Red Sox's 2013 title-winning team, made his first public appearance at Fenway Park since his departure from the club five years ago to help pay tribute to Ortiz.

“Terry Francona, I love you, man,” said Ortiz. “And John Farrell, who taught me as well just like Tito, thank you.”

“What meant a lot to me was our relationship living through it,” said Francona. “What I care about is the times we had together. They weren’t always perfect. But we worked hard, and what’s meaningful is where you go from there, because it only ends up being stronger because you create that trust, and that’s what I get excited about. I told him today I’d be honored just to be watching him and be so proud of what he’s accomplished. It’s a pretty cool thing.”

Also on hand was Theo Epstein, the general manager who signed Ortiz to a modest one-year, $1.25 million contract in January 2003 after the cost-cutting Twins decided to release him at 27 years old.

The weather, stifling of late, also cooperated with a perfect night at Fenway, the place Ortiz raked for so long and was able to walk into as a Hall of Famer for the first time on Tuesday.

Huge championship flags representing ‘04, ‘07 and ‘13 covered the outfield grass during the ceremony.

Ortiz has always brought good vibes into MLB’s oldest ballpark and tried to do so again this time, knowing his team has struggled mightily of late.

“Good evening, what’s up, Boston? The good luck charm just arrived,” said Ortiz, as he opened a brief and heartfelt speech. “The most important thing is I want to thank all the fans, all the Red Sox fans, worldwide, because without you guys, trust me, this would never happen. Every time I walk onto this field, and see everyone in these seats expecting us to win, that was the motivation for me to do it better and better every day.”

Ortiz will have to work on his skills as a good luck charm. For the Red Sox (49-49) -- who are banged up in the lineup and in the rotation -- this was their fifth loss in the last six games, 10th in the last 12 and 14th in the last 18.

In that sense, Ortiz’s tribute was a nice diversion for Red Sox fans.

Carl Yastrzemski, Jim Rice and Pedro Martinez, three other Red Sox legends who found their way to Cooperstown, were part of the contingent that took part in Tuesday’s ceremony.

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Other Red Sox players past (Trot Nixon, Jason Varitek, Alex Cora, Tim Wakefield) and present (Xander Bogaerts, Jackie Bradley Jr.) came out to greet Ortiz.

With the ceremonial first pitch, Ortiz fired a high-and-outside strike to Varitek.

In closing, Ortiz offered this to the fans.

“Thank you very much, Boston. Here’s your son! I love you forever.”