Valentine Claims Big Papi Quit On 2012 Red Sox

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In an interview that will air tonight on NBC Sports, former Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine claims that David Ortiz quit on the team after the blockbuster Nick Punto Deal in August. Valentine, on Costas Tonight (10 ET, NBC Sports Network), says that Ortiz was only expected to miss one week on the DL instead of the eventual six weeks. Valentine states that after getting a couple of hits, Papi then quit for the season:

"David Ortiz came back after spending about six weeks on the disabled list and we thought it was only going to be a week. He got two hits the first two times up, drove in a couple runs; we were off to the races. Then he realized that this trade meant that we’re not going to run this race and we’re not even going to finish the race properly and he decided not to play anymore. I think at that time it was all downhill from there."

Finally, we get the true measure of Bobby Valentine.