All-Star third baseman Adrian Beltre was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday, and David Ortiz had a little fun with Beltre right before he gave his speech to the baseball world.
Beltre’s dislike of having his head patted was well-known throughout his 21-year major league career, and it became the subject of jokes when teammates tried to give him a pat.
He revealed the origins of the gag in a 2019 interview with Fox Sports.
“I was wrong to tell Felix Hernández I didn’t like it,” Beltre said at the time. According to Awful AnnouncementIt was not OK to do that. He always wanted to do that because he knew it would piss me off. When I left Seattle for Boston, he told the other guys to do it because I didn’t like it. Then I came here and Elvis (Andrus) took over and started doing it. It became a curse that never went away.”
Naturally, that meant Ortiz had to poke fun at Beltre a little bit right after Beltre took the stage to speak.
Ortiz calmly stepped up behind Beltre and surprised the infielder by quickly rubbing his head as Beltre looked down at his notes and laughed.
Beltre realized who the surprise was and burst out laughing as Ortiz walked into the gallery and sat down to watch.
“And that never put me at ease.” Beltre He told MLB.com After the speech, he said, “But it was kind of cute to reminisce about my playing days. It was like a tee-off, a good way to prepare for my speech. It’s part of being part of the players’ fraternity, the clique you call it.”
“I don’t love him or like him, but I’m open to people who want to hang out with me. Big Papi and I have known each other since before I signed the contract.”
