BOSTON -- Hours before the Red Sox were set to retire David Ortiz's No. 34 on Friday night at Fenway Park, Angels manager Mike Scioscia sat in the visitors' dugout reminiscing about the first time he saw Ortiz play.
"I saw him back in 1999 in the Pacific Coast League when I was managing in Albuquerque and he was in Salt Lake City while with the Twins," Scioscia said. "You knew then that he had potential, but he's put it together almost like a fairy tale. The clutch hits, the championships, that's something that he had a major part of."
Fellow Dominican Jose Pujols may be a 10-time All-Star and have 602 home runs, but the Angels' designated hitter said he's gone to Ortiz for advice throughout his career.
• Papi joins select group as No. 34 is retired
"He always used to say, 'Take your jersey off and look at the back of your name,'" Pujols said. "He was like, 'What's your name?' I said, 'Pujols.' And he was like, 'Remember, you're Albert Pujols. Don't worry about the numbers. You're going to be all right.'
"I used to call him, 'Hey, man. I feel like I'm struggling with this.' And he just said, 'Bro, just look at the back of your jersey and you're going to be OK.' So I think that's something that I always kept with me."
It wasn't just the Angels who were full of praise for Ortiz. A slew of former teammates, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and former Red Sox broadcaster Don Orsillo all offered congratulations.