TORONTO -- Late Thursday night, in the midst of the postgame press conference celebrating his record-breaking home run(s), David Ortiz voluntarily introduced a topic most major-leaguers studiously avoid.

Without provocation, Ortiz made a none-too-subtle reference to steroid use, the scourge of baseball for the better part of the last decade.

Asked for his thoughts while circling the bases after hitting homer No. 51, eclipsing the 68-year-old team record held by Jimmie Foxx, Ortiz first expressed gratitude that the record-breaker had come at home, where he and the fans could best enjoy it.

He then shifted gears -- and topics -- quickly.

"This," he said, referencing his history-making homers, "is something that might change people's minds and let them know that there are still a lot of good athletes still playing the game and still working hard and preparing themselves to play the game the way it's supposed to be.

"A lot of people out there, a lot of players have a lot of respect for the game. I know there are some guys that have been caught using illegal things. But people should know that not everyone is like that."

Ortiz wasn't interested in clearing his name, of staking his claim to longball legitimacy, a boast that can't be made -- not definitively, anyway -- by the likes of Barry Bonds or Mark McGwire or Sammy Sosa.

No, this was Ortiz's message to a rightfully skeptical fan base: It's OK to believe again.

"There are a lot of people disappointed (by the enhancement talk)," he said as he left the visitors' clubhouse at Rogers Centre and headed out to take batting practice yesterday. "When someone hits for power, there's that one question hanging around -- even among players. It's been hurting the game, from the players' side and the fans' side. People have to get over it and have fun."

If Ortiz's remarks Thursday night seemed to target Bonds, McGwire and Sosa -- the game's top trio of sluggers in the last decade -- they weren't intended to do so.

"Whatever people did, they did for a reason," he said. "I'm not going to point the finger at anybody. But we pay for whatever we do."

Ortiz then stopped en route to the dugout and spoke earnestly.

"This is not everything," he said, gesturing with his bat to his surroundings. "Life is going to continue after this. I'm 30 -- I might play until I'm 35. After that, I want to spend the rest of my life with my family, with my children. Everybody knows about steroids -- they might help you now, but later on they (foul) you up."

The hulking slugger was asked if he felt the need to clear his name with his comments Thursday.

"I don't have to," he said. "But this is what everybody talks about. Players talk about it -- a lot. I know a lot of fans are disappointed by it."

Ortiz's remarks seemed to strike a chord with some veteran teammates.

"I think we're in an era of guilt-by-association," said third baseman Mike Lowell, "and I have firsthand experience with it. I went from 27 homers to eight (in the first season of expanded steroid testing) and had to answer a lot of questions."

Lowell said he has met former high school and college teammates who assume that steroid use is rampant in major-league clubhouses. Refuting such misconceptions can get tiresome.

"It bothers me on a personal level," said Lowell. "I'm not going to take those things because that's not the way I was raised -- I'm going to earn everything on my own. But I don't think it helps the game when some of the big-name guys (A) get accused or (B) get a positive test."

"It's good for (Ortiz) to come out and say what he did -- don't assume that guys are doing something illegal," added Mark Loretta. "That's been one of the unfortunate things of the whole steroid era -- if a guy is having a big home run year, he must be doing steroids or something. That's sad."

His bat usually makes the most persuasive case, but just in case anyone missed his message, Ortiz hammered it home again yesterday with his words.

"All I want," said Ortiz, "it to tell people, 'Believe in the game.' This is a hard game to play and people need to just come to the game and have fun with it."

smcadam@projo.com / (401) 277-7340