David Ortiz has become an October hero for the Boston Red Sox in the 109th World Series.
Not only is he jackhammering the St Louis Cardinals' pitching staff to pieces with his blistering bat, but he is also motivating his Red Sox teammates with dugout speeches.
Ortiz, who is among Major League Baseball's most feared hitters, is also one of the most colourful stars ever to wear a Red Sox uniform.
Just ask Jon Lester, who didn't mince his words when asked how he felt about playing on the same team as the Red Sox slugger.
"I really haven't been around a lot of superstars," said Lester, who pitched Boston to a victory in game five on Monday to give the Red Sox a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven set.
"But guys that have been around the league and played for some different teams, they all say he's the best superstar they've ever been around.
"You can't ask for anything more as a teammate than having David Ortiz in that locker room."
With the series shifting back to the American League city, Ortiz is once again the Red Sox' designated hitter.
He will face Cardinals starter Michael Wacha on Wednesday as Boston aim to win their first World Series at Fenway Park since 1918.
Ortiz clubbed a two-run homer off Wacha in a 4-2 loss in game two.
"I made a mistake and he made me pay," said Wacha.
Wacha isn't the only pitcher to suffer that fate this month.
The 37-year-old Ortiz is one of the highest-paid MLB players, having signed a two-year contract worth $US26 million ($A27.5 million) last year, and has been butchering the Cardinals with his red-hot bat.
Going into game six, Ortiz is batting .733 in the World Series compared to about .140 for the rest of the Red Sox.
He had a double and a single in his first two at bats on Monday to tie a World Series record by reaching base nine straight times.
Ortiz isn't just getting it done at the plate.
He helped sparked the Red Sox to a 4-2 win in game four with an impromptu dugout speech in the middle of the game.
"There's not another 10 years for me," Ortiz told the assembled group.
"How many more chances do I have?"
Red Sox manager John Farrell welcomes Ortiz's input and said he eavesdropped on the conversation and liked what he heard.
"That certainly wasn't scripted," Farrell said.
"I thought the way things were unfolding in that game, it was an appropriate message.
"His words were spot on."
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