"He really helps that ball club," Roof said. "I believe that he takes some of the pressure off Manny (Ramirez) because he bats behind him. He doesn't drive in as many runs, but he's such a leader. David has carried that ball club; he's the kingpin. He has a great personality and a talent for hitting the long ball."

Both men say Ortiz has learned to be more disciplined about the pitches he swings at.

"As you get older, you learn things," Roof said. "He was a young kid when he was here, and he was on a mission to get to the majors as soon as possible."

During the year he rehabbed in Salt Lake, Roof said he hit about 33 home runs and drove in more than 100 runs. But nothing he's ever done compares to his feat in Games 4 and 5 of the ALCS when his game-winning hits kept the Red Sox alive in the series. With Tuesday's win they made history as the only major league baseball team to ever force a Game Seven after being down three games to none.

Roof and Klauke said it's Ortiz's fun-loving personality that allows him to perform under pressure like that.

"If he would get to the World Series, it would just tickle me," Roof said. "That would really be something."

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E-mail: adonaldson@desnews.com