ANAHEIM — He plopped himself down in the folding chair after pulsation his 32nd home run of the evening. And during which special moment, usually as David Ortiz was disposition back, receiving in his biggest Home Run Derby uncover of them all, 6-year-old D’Angelo (Son of Papi) Ortiz had usually the single question:

“Dad,” he asked, “what place have been we in?”

Well, the scold answer, kid, was: First place. And that’s usually where his father would finish this night, too. So let the jot down uncover that, in his fourth shot during Home Run Derby glory, Big Papi eventually won himself the single of these things Monday night, in the home of Mickey, Minnie as good as Torii Hunter.

But which wasn’t the usually place David Ortiz found himself when this Derby was over. He additionally found himself in the upon all sides to remind the universe which he was still around, as good as which he could still mash, as good as which he could still light up the ballpark with his glamour as good as his smile.

“Good for him,” pronounced the male Ortiz out-whomped in the finals, Florida’s Hanley Ramirez. “He’s starting by difficult times right now. But we know he’s starting to come during the behind of in the second half as good as do what he gets paid to do — strike bombs.”

Hitting those bombs has been the featured item of Ortiz’s residence right away for 8 often enchanting seasons in Boston. And as he reminded us again Monday night, he still has the present for pulsation baseballs the unequivocally prolonged way.

He battered 8 of those home runs in the initial round, unleashed thirteen some-more in the second turn as good as afterwards accomplished off this spectacular with eleven in the final round. And for all the grievous homers his foe deposited in various stone piles, waterfalls as good as Torii Hunter’s the a single preferred mark of all — “the drink” — they couldn’t keep up with Big Papi. And they didn’t even mind.

Asked following if it was the small intimidating to watch Ortiz scrunch eleven homers in the final turn prior to he’d even taken the swing, his Dominican compadre, Ramirez, essentially laughed as good as said: “No. It’s fun. we recollect examination him upon TV. Now here we am competing opposite him. It was great. It was something I’m never starting to dont consider about in my life.”

“You know, I’d never unequivocally seen him strike prior to this,” pronounced the Brewers’ Corey Hart, who strike thirteen first-round homers of his own prior to forgetful how to strike any in second round. “Me, we have to TRY to strike home runs. He doesn’t. That’s what’s so considerable about him. He’s got which rhythm, as good as he usually keeps starting as good as going.”

Ortiz kept going, in fact, until he’d crushed 12,975 feet value of home runs, which comes to roughly 2½ miles worth. His 32 homers arrange third upon the all-time list of most Derby homers in the single night, during the behind of usually Bobby Abreu (41) as good as Josh Hamilton (35).

The eleven homers in the final turn scored equally Abreu (11 in 2005) for most ever in the final round. And the Papster assimilated usually Abreu (2005) as good as Jason Giambi (’03) in the records of guys who have strike eleven homers or some-more in dual opposite rounds in the same Derby.

“He’s got the undiluted pitch for this,” pronounced Hunter, who hung with Ortiz all night, as partial of his gig as kind of the unaccepted maitre d’ of this event. “That’s since he was my collect to click tonight. He’s built for this.”

In Ortiz’s prior 3 Derbies, he regularly seemed to run out of steam after the single large round. So this time, he said, he was dynamic to “just kind of make use of [my] experience.”

“I competence try to put something opposite in play,” he joked beforehand. “I competence try to lay in prohibited stones. Or we competence proceed chasing my son. Or we competence go shagging whilst the alternative guys have been hitting. we do not know.”

As it incited out, he was creation all which up. He often lounged during the behind of as good as watched the rest of the margin do the thing. And utterly the thing it was. Disappointing as it was which nobody ever did strike the round which plunked in to the core of Splash Mountain, down the highway during Disney, there were many, most baseballs strike upon this night to places no baseballs have ever left before. Such as:

• Matt Holliday didn’t tarry the initial round. But he did vanquish the longest home run of the night — the 497-foot Mars goal which twisted around the left-field tainted stick as good as splattered off the confronting of the third deck, in an roughly unfit place for any tellurian being to hit. “I’ve never seen that,” Hunter said. “Not in BP [batting practice] or anything.”

• Ramirez additionally put upon an violent show, smoking the everlasting period of gravity-defying line drives which refused to come down until they landed somewhere in between the left-field blockade as good as Mexico. He launched 4 homers in to the stone pile, 3 some-more which privileged the trees in passed core as good as dual scarcely matching 476-foot screamers which most privileged the un-clearable left-field bleachers. “Hanley — he’s usually uncertain strong,” Hunter said. “And he’s got immature muscles, too. What’s he starting to do when he gets grown-up muscles?”

• Miguel Cabrera, meanwhile, got suspended in the second round. But he still left utterly the impress upon this show. Cabrera AVERAGED 450 feet for his twelve home runs — some-more than any the single else upon the premises. “Miguel Cabrera — what he did was sick, man,” Hunter said. Told he left witnesses as good as even his competitors in awe, Cabrera chuckled, after an additional usually an additional day during his office: “You’ve gotta go to Detroit as good as see my BP more.”

• While it was difficult to contend what Cabrera’s most silly explosve of the night was, the 485-foot OPPOSITE-FIELD space station he launched two-thirds of the approach up the seats in right was an glorious assignment for which honor. “Lefties do not even strike balls there,” Hunter gushed.

• But right up there with which shot was the 476-foot laser lamp which Cabrera squashed in turn the single which plopped down in the pool of H2O during the unequivocally tip of the left-center-field stone raise — the never-before-reached physique of H2O the Angels know as “the drink.” And which was the home run which done Hunter’s night complete. “Let me discuss it you, man, I’ve been perplexing to do which in BP for the prolonged time — me as good as Vladdy [Guerrero] — usually perplexing to do it once. And Miguel Cabrera did it. He did it no cork, no nothing. It was all au natural, man. Unbelievable.”

• And afterwards there was Big Papi’s signature explosion — the 478-footer in the second turn which privileged the “Going, Going, Gone” pointer in right margin as good as clattered in to the guts of the stadium. “When he strike it,” pronounced his personal pitcher, Yankees manager Tony Pena, “that round was screaming. It went by me as good as we usually said, ‘Wow.’ ”

But it was no large understanding to Big Papi, the male who claimed he had already strike balls to destinations in this fool around ground which were most some-more apart than which one.

“I strike the homer here which went down the hovel [three-quarters of the approach up the seats in right] once,” he reminisced. “But we was perplexing to strike the train which was parked out there, so we kind of longed for it.”

So once the male does that, what’s an additional shot in to the waterfall?

“I strike which in BP all the time,” Ortiz deadpanned, during his ho-hum best.

So we attempted to give him something bigger as good as improved to fire for — similar to the 57 Freeway out over the center-field fence. But that, he said, would take “an alien.” And after kicking it around, the rest of the margin motionless it was the great thing nobody ever did strike the single THAT far.

“I do not instruct which upon nobody,” Arizona’s Chris Young said. “That would be terrible. we do not wish to be obliged for that. In open precision the single time, there was the travel out over the fence, as good as we strike the home run as good as it landed in somebody’s front seat. That contingency have been scary, man. If we was pushing as good as the round came by my window, I’d weird out the small bit. we know that.”

Yeah, great point. So the turnpike was out. But how about Disneyland? That couldn’t be some-more than 1,000 feet or so from home plate, right?

“No, we can’t strike Disneyland,” Hunter announced. “It’s as good far, as good as it’s the wrong direction.

“Disneyland,” he said, U-turning as good as indicating off in to the distance, “it’s this way.”

OK, so Disneyland was out. And it’s usually as well, too, when we consider about it. The final thing round needs these days would be perplexing to insist how Minnie Mouse had usually been knocked comatose by the Home Run Derby homer.

What round should have suspicion about, though, since the setting, was the Home Run Derby staged by those Disney characters. We did the small polling upon which topic. And amazingly, all 4 players we surveyed pronounced Goofy would be the transparent the a single preferred in which competition.

“I would have to go with Goofy, usually since of the leverage,” pronounced former Derby champ Ryan Howard. “Goofy is usually so high as good as so long. He gets extended, man, it’s awesome. we do not know if Mickey can get which prolongation around his ears. So we consider Goofy as good as may be Donald Duck would be in the finals. Donald’s kind of stumpy, kind of splay the small bit. So he looks similar to he’s got disreputable power.”

“No, it’s gotta be Goofy,” Holliday said. “He’s got funny power.”

But afterwards so does the male who owned this night — the a single as good as usually Big Papi.

A integrate of months ago, after his catastrophic April, there weren’t most people station who ever would have seen the night similar to this coming, not for this man. And clearly, David Ortiz is still stung by the difference oral as good as created by those people.

“There have been the lot of people which ? do not know how tough we work to fool around this game, how most ups as good as downs we have,” he said. “Not all is roses as good as flowers. You’ve got to understanding with the downs so we can get up.

“You know, I’ve been the male which [has] been the force as prolonged as I’ve been personification here with the Red Sox. And I’ve had the lot of ups, the lot some-more than downs. And as shortly as we have the down, it seems similar to everyone is indicating during me similar to the Nintendo diversion or something which is ostensible to be which easy. But to let we know, to give we the news, it ain’t which easy.”

But upon the special Monday dusk in July, in the ballpark distant from home, David Ortiz certain done it demeanour easy. Yeah, it was “only” the Home Run Derby which he’d usually won. But for the male who won it, this was something some-more — the possibility to remind us not usually of what he was, though of what he still is.

“Of course, he won. He was SUPPOSED to win,” Miguel Cabrera said. “He’s still Big Papi.”

Jayson Stark is the comparison bard for ESPN.com. His ultimate book, “Worth The Wait: Tales of the 2008 Phillies,” was published by Triumph Books as good as is accessible in bookstores as good as online. Click here to sequence the copy.