David Ortiz Has Encouraging Message For Red Sox Fans Amid Disappointing Start

David Ortiz Has Encouraging Message For Red Sox Fans Amid Disappointing Start originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Boston Red Sox fans have not been pleased with the team's slow start this year. Despite sweeping the Kansas City Royals this week, the Red Sox have spent most of the season below .500 and at the bottom of the AL East standings.

It's still early, however, and Boston is only a few games out of a playoff spot. The team has plenty of time to turn things around, which is why David Ortiz isn't worried about the Red Sox just yet.

"It's still early. You can't even talk about wild card yet. It's way too early," Ortiz told WEEI's Zach Gelb this week. "In a month, a lot of things can change. You saw what happened last year when the guys got on a run. All of the sudden, they got in it, in the playoffs. Like I say, baseball is so unpredictable. There's a lot of baseball games left. We'll see what's gonna happen down the road."

David Ortiz tells me it’s too early to count the Red Sox out and has a message to the younger players that are struggling offensively. @WEEI@davidortizpic.twitter.com/bNMCecRYyN— Zach Gelb (@ZachGelb) May 21, 2026

Ortiz is right. Boston still has 70 percent of its games left and was in a similar spot at this point last year, only to catch fire over the summer and make the postseason. The American League is weak this year, so one hot streak could change everything.

Ortiz also had a message for the Red Sox's slumping young hitters, many of whom appear to be pressing at the plate.

"You gotta go pitch by pitch, day by day. You can't try to get three hits in one at-bat," Ortiz said. "You gotta be patient, pay attention and have the discipline to bounce back when things aren't going your way... Try to continue fighting."

Everyone goes through slumps, even Hall of Famers like Ortiz. He had prolonged cold spells to start the 2009 and 2010 seasons but eventually snapped out of them, so hopefully this year's lineup can do the same.

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