David Ortiz Held A Baby During the National Anthem

Red Sox slugger David Ortiz put down the baseball bat on Thursday night and picked up a baby instead.

A week after the designated hitter was in the national spotlight for smashing a phone with a baseball bat in the team’s dugout, after being ejected in the seventh inning against the Baltimore Orioles following a feud with an umpire, Ortiz decided to show fans his softer side by reaching into the crowd and plucking a small child from the arms of a Red Sox fan.

For the National Anthem’s entirety, during Thursday’s game against the Kansas City Royals, Big Papi stood stoically while holding the baby against his shoulder, a far cry from his public displays of aggression he has shown spectators in the past.

Ortiz didn’t play in last night’s game and was sidelined as a designated hitter, but as ESPN points out, he had another job to do, and instead played “designated sitter.”

The baby’s parent got to snap a couple of photos with Big Papi, and even snagged an autograph.