The Boston Red Sox acquired St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Sonny Gray on Tuesday, over a decade after Red Sox legend David Ortiz called Gray one of the toughest pitchers that he’d ever faced.
In a September 2015 article for The Players’ Tribune, Ortiz praised the then‑25‑year‑old Gray, who was finishing his third season with the Oakland Athletics. Gray went 14‑7 with a 2.73 ERA and a 169‑59 K‑BB ratio over 208 innings in 2015, earning All‑Star honors and finishing third in AL Cy Young voting.
Ortiz admitted that he wasn’t initially impressed by the 5‑foot‑10, 190‑pound Gray.
“He looks like the guy who fixes my computer at the Apple Store,” Ortiz quipped. “I’m thinking, ‘Here we go. This is gonna be fun.’
“Then he took me for a ride, man,” Ortiz continued. “Fastball. Sinker. Slider. Curve … Whap. Whap. Whap. You have no idea what this kid is going to throw. He drives me crazy.”