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David Ortiz wears Aly Raisman's Olympic medals during fun first pitch

It turns out baseball players are good for more than just throwing a baseball hard or hitting it far. They also serve as very good Olympic medal holders.

Much like Bryce Harper did for Katie Ledecky during her first pitch this week at Nationals Park, David Ortiz was put in charge of holding and protecting the Olympic medals of decorated American gymnast Aly Raisman while she threw out the ceremonial first pitch Friday night at Fenway Park.

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During the 2016 games in Rio, Raisman added one team gold and two individual silvers to her two golds and one bronze from the London games in 2012. That’s a lot of hardware to lug around. They make throwing a ceremonial first pitch nearly impossible. So Ortiz pulled double duty, acting as the catcher for Raisman’s first pitch while sporting her medals around his neck.

US gymnast Aly Raisman places one of her six Olympic medals around the neck of David Ortiz. (Red Sox on Twitter)
US gymnast Aly Raisman places one of her six Olympic medals around the neck of David Ortiz. (Red Sox on Twitter)

That’s pretty awesome.

In a final season that’s been filled with milestones and parting gifts for Oritz, we’re guessing this ranked high among his favorite moments of the season. Ortiz himself has never appeared in the Olympics, which ls kind of a shame if you think about it. The next opportunity would come four years from now during the 2020 games in Tokyo, but he’ll be far removed from his playing days by then.

Oh well, at least on this one occasion he can say he felt what it’s like to have an Olympic medal placed around his neck.

Here’s to you, BIg Papi. And to you as well, Aly Raisman, for making your country proud.

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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!