Dear Daily Princetonian: Hello, Mr. Ortiz, nice to meet you

My summer as a sports writing intern for The Washington Times was full of memorable moments.

But nothing can top what happened to me at a Washington Nationals game one Wednesday evening in June.

It started out as an ordinary work day. I arrived at Nationals Park sometime around 3 p.m. and got situated in the press box.

That evening, the Nationals were facing the Boston Red Sox in interleague play, and there was an interesting storyline to that night’s game.

Famed pitcher John Smoltz, who had shoulder surgery in 2008, was making his debut on the mound for the Red Sox.

After 10 successful seasons with the Atlanta Braves, the winner of the 1996 NL Cy Young Award was making his first start for a new team.

The Times’ beat writers were busy with their normal duties in the Nationals clubhouse, so they sent me into the Red Sox clubhouse to collect information about Smoltz’ return.

After Red Sox manager Terry Francona’s pre-game press conference, I noticed a large crowd beginning to form around Smoltz’ locker. The pitcher was going to speak about his return.

Being quite small and positioned in the back of the crowd, I could not see or hear what was occurring.

I thought to myself, “Great. Here was my chance to get some great quotes, and I blew it!” But I was in for a lucky surprise.

All of a sudden, I felt a weighty hand on my shoulder, and a voice boomed, “Stop the press conference!” I turned around and realized that the voice, and the hand, belonged to David Ortiz.

And before I knew what was going on, Ortiz was guiding me to the front of the pack. After he saw that my voice recorder could reach Smoltz, Ortiz said, “OK, you can begin now.” Everyone laughed.

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During my internship at the Times, I had my fair share of memorable moments and encounters, including chance meetings with members of the Washington Redskins. But how I met David Ortiz certainly stands out above all the rest and is something I will always remember.