Big Papi speaks on last season, future of the Sox

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Big Papi sounded off on Wednesday as he spoke about the Red Sox past and future.

Everything is new this year at Red Sox spring training -- the general manager, the manager, the ballpark and the facility. But one thing has not changed -- the spectacle that is David Ortiz when he arrives for the first time each spring.

Ortiz didn’t hold back when he spoke about last season after reporting to spring training one day early.

“At one point I thought I was done here,” said Ortiz.

The 36-year-old is back for one more year after saying no thanks to a 2-year offer due to the salary range and then avoided arbitration in the final hours.

“I try my best to sign for the next few years…didn’t work out, but I’m happy…what I got,” said Ortiz.

“The clubhouse seems to be full of David right now,” said Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine. “And I expect him to have that smile as often as possible.”

Ortiz has 14.58 million reasons to smile this season and says he has no interest in revisiting last year’s epic collapse or the eating habits of some of the team’s starting pitchers during those games.

“We’re not going to be thinking about the fried chicken or the beer they had last September and March, February 2012 -- nope,” said Ortiz.

Ortiz was asked about his leadership skills on Wednesday and why he didn’t do more to stop last season’s slide. He responded by saying there’s a different between being a leader and a babysitter, and he’s no babysitter.

(Copyright (c) 2012 Sunbeam Television Corp. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)