ANAHEIM, Calif. — Finally, David Ortiz can look up at the giant video screens in every ballpark around the league without cringing.

When Ortiz was really struggling, in the depths of his early season slump in May, manager Terry Francona told the slugger to stop looking at his stats. Just ignore them. Seeing his ugly statistics in large type will only bring him further down.

Ortiz didn't listen, of course.

"No, I didn't. It's on the board every day. No way you're going to stop looking at it," Ortiz said with a hearty laugh.

Now, finally, he can glance up at them without feeling a twinge of pain. The .238 average? Not so great. But 28 home runs, and 99 RBI? Those are numbers to be proud of, especially considering how he earned them.

Ortiz went into June with one home run and 17 RBI. His average was . He was then one of baseball's most productive players over the final four months, posting amazing totals considering his previous ineptitude. The dichotomy is baffling, even to him.

"I tell you, this time I still don't know what happened the first two months," said Ortiz. "But one thing I tell you, I figured things out at one point. It wasn't even that I was trying to do something different, because I try everything. I tell you, I tried everything. I was about to start hitting right handed just to see if things change. But I just went back to the basics and act like I used to do when I played little league. Just come to the field. Try to hit the ball and that's it. And that's when things started clicking back."

His problems weren't restricted to the diamond. Ortiz' father was suffering through some health issues, and then midseason, the news broke that Ortiz was on a list of 104 players that tested positive for banned substances in 2003.

Through it all, he struggled to keep perspective, and to remember that it's not how you start, it's how you finish. Many days in the clubhouse before games, he wore a shirt emblazoned with those words.

"You know, this game isn't how you start. You've got to wait until the last day and then you can say whatever you want to say or criticize players or do whatever you want to do. You know, this is a long season, and things happen for a reason," Ortiz said.

Francona just tried to keep Ortiz' spirits up, and gave him time out of the lineup when the manager felt it might do the slugger some good. He also dropped Ortiz down in the lineup, where he has remained.

"The first couple of months were miserable. Went out to Seattle. Gave him the series off. Came back and just asked him to keep plugging away and not look up at his batting average. He's done a pretty good job of that. He's been very productive from the first of June on. Even though his batting average is lower than he's accustomed to, he's been a really productive hitter," Francona said.

In some ways, even as he ages, he thinks he's becoming a better player; that the trials he endured this year have taught him much about the game. He intends to ruminate over the lessons of 2009 this winter.

"I tell you, this might be one of the seasons that I learned the most about the game than ever. I'm the kind of guy that I take things with me and analyze it in the offseason, and go through it and try to get the best benefit out of it," Ortiz said.

dbarbari@projo.com