"Actually, while the Red Sox were in St. Louis – and this would've been a mess if I'd been healthy (and playing) – I actually flew home to Florida because my son was born. So that would've been interesting – do I pitch in the World Series or do I see my first born?

“I did not go to St. Louis for that series. I was there in Boston for Games 1-2, flew to Florida for 3-4-5 and then flew back to Boston for the win and stuck up there for the parade. It was probably the same as winning one in St. Louis – a city like Boston winning a World Series. It was pretty nuts. And to see guys embrace it all and take part in it was pretty special. That was a big deal that year that they clinched at home.

"It was just such a fun team, and probably most teams that win the World Series have that same kind of closeness and leadership. Between (David) Ortiz, (Dustin) Pedroia, Jon Lester, there's just something you have. And somebody like David can speak up – probably one of the more impressive things in Boston was how I was impressed by him, period. He treated everyone in a way where he could be a leader or a positive influence. That was pretty unreal.”

Ortiz was the 2013 World Series MVP against the Cardinals.