12:06 PM EDT on Friday, September 30, 2005

BOSTON -- M-V-P! M-V-P! M-V-P!

Pick up the chant. Shout it loud. Shout it long. Shout it adoringly, and convincingly, and repeatedly, the way all 35,345 fans at Fenway Park did last night when the remarkable, the powerful, the wonderful Big Papi -- the amazing and astounding David Ortiz -- tied the game with a solo homer to lead off the eighth, then won it with a one-out, walk-off single in the ninth.

M-V-P! M-V-P! M-V-P!

Shout it out, not just all across Red Sox Nation, but across the entire nation, all of America. Let 'em hear it in the Big Apple -- especially in the Big Apple -- in the Windy City, all the way to the Left Coast.

A designated hitter never has been voted Most Valuable Player, but no designated hitter ever has had a year like Big Papi.

His homer over The Wall in left-center on a 2-0 pitch off Toronto reliever Vinnie Chulk was not only his 47th of the season, tying the Yankees' Alex Rodriguez, his primary -- make that only -- rival for the MVP award, but also marked the 20th time this season that Ortiz has tied a game, or given the Sox the lead, with a round-tripper. It also was his 11th home run this month, a club record for September.

M-V-P! M-V-P! M-V-P!

It was a game the Red Sox, down, 4-1, heading into the bottom of the sixth, couldn't afford to lose. Not with the Yankees and Indians winning by comfortable margins.

As he has done so many times this season, Ortiz once again provided the game-winning hit.

He came to the plate in the ninth with one out, the speedy Johnny Damon on second base, and Edgar Renteria on first, Renteria having walked on four pitches after Damon, who had singled, stole second on a 3-0 count.

"M-V-P! M-V-P! M-V-P!" the crowd roared as Ortiz strode to the plate.

"I try not to listen," he said afterwards. "I just try to shut everything down and just focus on what I want to do at the plate. Most of the time, I try to not do too much because I get in trouble when I try to do too much."

He hadn't done much his first two at-bats against lefthanded starter Scott Downs, striking out both times. But it was his leadoff single in the sixth that sent Downs to the showers and brought in Jason Frasor, who was greeted by a two-run homer by Manny Ramirez into the bullpen Frasor had just left.

Ortiz then opened the Boston half of the eighth with his shot to left-center, and everyone in the crowd was expecting similar dramatics when he came to the plate in the bottom of the ninth.

"When he's standing in that batter's box," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said, "nobody's rushing out there (to the mound) to face him. He puts so much fear in opposing pitchers because he's done so much. People expect good swings from him every time."

Nobody delivers every time. Or, in baseball, even half the time. But Big Papi comes through time, and time, and time again.

The old ballpark was reverberating with the "M-V-P!" chant when he stepped into the batter's box to face Miguel Batista, the Jays' hard-throwing closer.

Ortiz fouled off the first pitch, then took a ball low. He fell behind in the count, 1-2, when he fouled off another pitch, after which he stepped out of the box and banged his cleats with his bat.

"M-V-P! M-V-P! M-V-P!" the crowd chanted.

The next pitch was low and inside, ball two. Then another ball, low, running the count to 3-2.

Again, Ortiz stepped out. He adjusted his batting gloves. He banged his cleats with his bat. Then, for good measure, he banged them again.

And, again, the chant of "M-V-P! M-V-P! M-V-P!" -- this time faster and faster, almost breathless, rose from the crowd.

Then the swing, and the ball was skipping past shortstop Russ Adams, into the outfield, and Damon was rounding third with the winning run, and the Red Sox were rushing out of the dugout to mob Ortiz between first and second.

As for the fans, well, you know what they were doing. They weren't just yelling and cheering. They also were chanting. Again. "M-V-P! M-V-P! M-V-P!"

And who would argue with them?

How could anyone who has followed the Red Sox this exciting and exasperating season doubt that Big Papi has been not merely the Most Valuable Player on the team, but the Most Valuable Player in the entire American League?

"He's got my vote," Francona said.

Matt Clement's, too. Especially after Ortiz saved him from what would have been his fourth loss this month.

"I can't say enough about the guy," Clement said. "For what he did tonight -- game-tying and game-winning hits -- if that's not enough to win the MVP, I don't know what is."

The ballots will be cast Sunday, following the conclusion of the dramatic and climactic three-game series against the Yankees which begins tonight at Fenway.

A-Rod certainly will do his best to state his case, although he won't get any support in Boston, where Ortiz's every at-bat is sure to be greeted with that thundering chant: "M-V-P! M-V-P! M-V-P!"