BOSTON -- Milestones seem to engulf slugger David Ortiz in his swan song season, and during the Red Sox's 9-4 win over the D-backs on Friday night at Fenway Park, he added one more.
With just one swing, Ortiz became the third Red Sox player in franchise history to record 1,000 extra-base hits -- joining Hall of Famers Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski.
Fittingly, the extra-base hit came on a majestic homer. According to Statcast™, Papi's 26th homer of the season landed 393 feet away from home plate and had an exit velocity of 102 mph. It was also Boston's final run of the game, as Hanley Ramirez did most of the lifting with a pair of three-run homers.
When asked how his swing felt, Ortiz laughed.
"All my swings feel good -- especially when I hit it," Ortiz said.
Ortiz said hitting extra-base hits is not easy, let alone reaching 1,000. Big Papi admitted he was a little confused rounding the bases before finding out it was his 1,000th extra-base hit with the Red Sox specifically, thinking he was well beyond that mark. When his six seasons with the Twins are added, he's posted 1,169 career extra-base hits.
"[It] means I'm getting old," said Ortiz. "It's been a long journey, you know? I thought I already passed that. I was a little confused when they told me, 'That's your 1,000th with the Red Sox.' Man, catching up."
Ortiz finished the night 3-for-4 with three runs and two RBIs. Before the team's series against the Yankees kicked off on Tuesday, Ortiz was hitting just .136 (6-for-44) in his previous 12 games.
"He even made a comment in the dugout that he was back, after the home run to center field," Red Sox manager John Farrell said. "When his timing is on, it's such easy power from him, and that was the case again tonight.
"He's in with those two other names in the history of this franchise, and that's a special sentence when you're in with those two guys. We're fortunate to be able to watch it. A thousand extra-base hits is almost mind-boggling to get your arms around -- the kind of production that takes for a long, long time."