Ortiz is really not bad at 1B. He wouldn't win any gold gloves due to limited range, and you don't want that big guy diving for balls. He has very good hands, a good accurate arm and decent footwork around the bag. Believe it or not, Ortiz did not lose out first base to Millar based on the fielding, but on the bat. When the Sox got Ortiz in 2003, they had no idea what they had as an offensive force. Going into the season, Millar was thought to be the better offensive player-- a full time player. Ortiz and Jeremy Giambi were vying for DH. When Giambi went down with an injury and Ortiz took the job and his offensive game took off. By that time, they were a couple of months into the season. Why mess with success.