Yankees' Ottavino Gets Wish, Faces Babe Ruth In New Ad

Yankees P Adam Ottavino, after saying in December that he would "strike Babe Ruth out every time," is appearing in a team commercial in which he "pitches to Ruth with catastrophic consequences," according to Ronald Blum of the AP. Ottavino said when he was approached by the Yankees to do the ad, he "thought it was a good idea, just to show that I can make fun of myself." In the ad, Ruth hits "five thunderous drives" as Ottavino turns his head to "watch the balls soar." Ottavino then pops up in bed, breathing hard and saying, "What a nightmare." Yankees Productions Senior Exec Producer Brian Spector "developed the idea with his staff and shot the 45-second commercial early during spring training in Tampa." The team "found archival footage of Ruth and shot new material with Ottavino on a back lot behind third base at Steinbrenner Field," and at a nearby hotel room of a YES Network employee. The Yankees also "ordered old-style uniforms and found the caps and gloves online" (AP, 4/8).