David Ortiz knows that he's likely to be suspended for his role in a bench-clearing "brawl" late in Friday night's 10-4 Red Sox victory over the Baltimore Orioles.
He just wants to make sure that everyone knows it wasn't his fault.
While Ortiz admitted to not "feeling proud" about the way that things shook out during the bottom of the eighth inning at Fenway on Friday evening, he made it very evident that he felt provoked.
"I know MLB is going to take some action about it," Ortiz said. "It's something that everybody's aware of. It all depends on what they're feeling like doing, but I wasn't the one that started this. I don't think I was."
Ortiz, who knocked out Baltimore's Brad Bergesen by hitting him with a line drive, was sure to call the reliever to make sure that he was alright.
He won't be doing the same with Kevin Gregg, who threw inside at Ortiz numerous times before leaving the mound twice and chirping the Boston DH when he flied out.
Ortiz, Gregg, Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Orioles reliever Jim Johnson were ejected from the game.