Everybody loves to root against a supervillain, but the Yankees face a heel vacancy once the Boston icon hangs up his spikes.
Plenty has been written about the value of the villain. His mere presence in a story adds depth, giving the reader or viewer that much more incentive to cheer for the hero to take him down. Sure, we root against them, but they are still fun characters to see in action, moving the story along. Batman has The Joker. Superman has Lex Luthor. Jerry has Newman. Social media has Curt Schilling.
For over a decade now, the Yankees have had David Ortiz.