FORT MYERS, Fla. -- David Ortiz, who says he has dropped 20 pounds in the past two months and looks like it, is on a diet unlike any that most of you know. He met his future wife, Tiffany, while playing for Class A minor league team, the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers in 1996. record.BATTING BITS: His .287 average was his lowest infour seasons with the Red Sox...batted .382 (13-34) inseason's first nine games and .303 (20-66) in first 17 conteststhrough April 21...had a .236 (37-157) mark overnext 42 games to fall to .256 on June 10 before hittingat a .337 (60-178) clip in next 45 contests, improvingto .292 through Aug. 1...batted .257 (43-167)in final 47 games...was 5-for-14 (.357) with the basesloaded...hit .351 (13-37) with seven homers and 14 RBIs in10 games as a 1st baseman...had a pair of season-high7-game hitting streaks...tied career high with four hits,July 29 vs. Los Angeles Angels.JOYRIDE IN JULY: Was selected as the AmericanLeague Player of the Month for July, leading the Majorswith 14 homers, 35 RBI, 87 total bases, and 21extra base hits (tied) and ranking second in slugging at.798...batted .339 (37-109) in 26 games...also wonA.L. Led the majors with a .701 SLG after the All-Star break...His 44 XBH after the break tied for the ML lead. Splits the off-season between the Dominican Republic and Massachusetts. A CHECK OF THE LEADERBOARD: Finished 3rd in the A.L. Hit a go-ahead HR in the 16th inning on 4/10 at NYY, his latest ever HR by inning. MORE 2003 HIGHLIGHTS: Went 3-for-5 with 2 doubles, 3 RBI and a run in an 11-8 loss June 1 at Toronto...his batting average peaked at .317 on June 14 after a 27-game 35-for-91 (.385) stretch lifted it from .188...scored a career-best 4 runs June 27 vs. Florida...went 3-for-4 with 2 solo homers, part of a 6-long ball barrage, in a 7-5 win August 3 at Baltimore...4 days later, went deep twice again, including a lead-off shot to ignite a 6-run 2nd as the Sox beat Anaheim 9-3 to close out a 3-game sweep at Fenway...mashed a first-inning 3-run homer off Rich Harden, propelling the Sox to a 14-5 win August 21 vs. Oakland...3-days later, hit a 3-run homer in a 5-run 4th as the Red Sox beat Seattle 6-1...matched his personal bests for the 6th and 7th times with 4 RBI August 25 vs. Seattle and September 3 at Chicago...August 25, hit a 2-run homer in the 3rd and a 2-run single in the 5th as the Sox completed a home 4-game sweep...the homer, his 20th, gave the Red Sox 6 players with 20 long balls for the first time in their history. © Primal Information powered by Write CSS OR LESS and hit save. DET...Marked his 38th and 39th multi-homer games as a Red Sox, 2nd in MLB since 2003 (Albert Pujols, 44)...His 5/18 effort passed Ted Williams (37) for the most in club history...Activated on 4/20 vs. KC after beginning the season on the 15-day DL with right Achilles tendinopathy...Played in 6 games on rehab with Triple-A Pawtucket prior to activation (.222 AVG, 4-for-18, HR, 4 RBI)...Appeared in 137 of the club's 147 games following 4/20 activation...Made 135 starts, including 129 at DH and 6 at 1B, and twice pinch-hit without appearing defensively...Had a season-high 15-game hit streak to begin the season from 4/20-5/7, with a .414 AVG (24-for-58), 9 doubles, 4 homers, and 17 RBI in that stretch...Was his longest career hit streak to start a season and the longest by a Red Sox since Tony Pena hit in the 1st 15 games of 1990. Matched single-game career-high for the 40th and 41st times with 2-homer games on 5/18 at MIN and 9/4 vs. NEW DEAL: A potential free agent at the end of the 2004 season, Ortiz signed a 2-year contract extension with a club option for the 2007 season on May 21, 2004. INSIDE THE NUMBERS: Played in a team-high 159 games, 148 as DH...started 10 games at first base...the left-handed swinger batted .302 (62-for-205) with 11 homers and 46 RBI off lefthanders and .298 (118-for-396) with 36 long balls and 102 RBI vs. righthanders...batted at a .322 clip (95-for-295) with 20 homers and 74 RBI at Fenway, while hitting .278 (85-for-306) with 27 homers and 74 RBI on the road...hit .338 (23-for-68) with 4 homers and 15 RBI in 17 interleague games vs. National League foes...among his most frequent victims: Ortiz hit 10 homers and drove in 20 runs in 19 games against Tampa Bay, he hit 7 homers and drove in 24 runs in 17 games against Toronto, he slugged 5 homers and knocked in 19 in 19 games against the Yankees, and he added 5 homers and 17 RBI in only 10 games against the Tigers.