Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz officially announced Wednesday he’s planning to retire from baseball following the 2016 season.
He made it official in a video for The Players’ Tribune:
Ortiz arrived to the Red Sox in 2003 as a free-agent castoff from the Minnesota Twins. He had to battle Jeremy Giambi for playing time at designated hitter, which illustrates the limited expectations at the time. Little did anybody know he would eventually become a franchise legend.
Red Sox owner John Henry released a statement on Ortiz’s decision, per Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe:
Team president Dave Dombrowski also released a statement on Ortiz’s retirement, per the Boston Herald:
“Having admired David as an opponent for so many years, it has been such a joy for me to now be on the same side as him with the Red Sox. I have the utmost respect for David, and even with my brief tenure in the organization, I have gotten to know that he is a first-class individual that provides invaluable leadership for our ball club.”
Manager John Farrell also expressed his feelings towards the slugger, via the Boston Herald:
“It’s been an honor for me to wear the same uniform as David for my eight years in Boston. The ability to write the name of an All-Star-caliber player with a host of heroic accomplishments in the postseason in our lineup every day for the past three seasons truly has been a pleasure for me. David’s presence in our lineup is such a big part of who we are as a team, and I think I speak for all of us when I say that we all look forward to seeing what he has in store for what will be the final season in his tremendous career.”
“David is one of the greatest hitters ever to wear a Red Sox uniform, one of the top clutch hitters in baseball over the last 13 years, and the best designated hitter in history,” longtime teammate Jason Varitek said, according to the Boston Herald. “I’m happy for David and his family, but the game will miss him.”
The 40-year-old Dominican Republic native will enter his final campaign with a .284 career average, 503 home runs, 1,641 RBI and 1,340 runs scored. Those numbers help illustrate the type of force he’s been in the middle of Boston’s lineup for more than a decade.
More importantly, he’s helped lead an organization that was desperate for a title when he arrived to three World Series championships. He’s hit 17 homers in 82 career postseason games, with 13 of those coming in title-winning years (2004, 2007 and 2013).
During that run of success on the field, Ortiz also became an important figure in the community. He delivered a memorable, emotional speech to the crowd at Fenway Park in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings in April 2013 that showcased the genuine love between him and the city.
The only major blemish on his resume is one that should have never gone public. Bob Hohler of the Boston Globe explained Ortiz failed a 2003 screening test as the league conducted a “suspicionless” drug-testing survey, which was supposed to include a confidentiality agreement.
In a piece for The Players’ Tribune in March, Ortiz said he, like many other players at the time, was taking over-the-counter supplements that were considered legal. He never learned what the positive test was for, but he doesn’t believe it should tarnish his legacy.
“I never knowingly took any steroids. If I tested positive for anything, it was for something in pills I bought at the damn mall,” Ortiz wrote. “If you think that ruins everything I have done in this game, there is nothing I can say to convince you different.”
He also wrote, “Hell yes I deserve to be in the Hall of Fame.”
That’s surely a debate on the horizon. Based purely on his numbers at the plate and his World Series titles, he deserves a spot in Cooperstown. But lingering questions voters may have about that 2003 test and the fact he played DH for most of his career could work against him.
His Hall of Fame status won’t change the way he’s viewed in Boston, though. He helped lay the foundation for a period of success the organization hadn’t witnessed since the 1910s and embraced his role as a key figure in the community when called upon.
That’s why Red Sox nation will always hold a special place in its collective heart for Big Papi. He’ll try to provide the fans with a couple of final moments to remember him by in 2016.
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