Following reports that Red Sox DH/warrior-poet David Ortiz would retire after the 2016 season, Big Papi himself confirmed the news on Wednesday. On the occasion of his 40th birthday, Ortiz made the announcement via Derek Jeter's Players' Tribune ...
The 2016 season will be Ortiz's 20th at the big-league level. Across his 19 seasons to date -- 13 of which have been with Boston -- Ortiz has batted .284/.378/.547 (139 OPS+) with 503 homers; 584 doubles; and 2,303 hits. Those numbers don't include his career postseason line of .295/.409/.553 with 17 homers in 82 games. Along the way, he was named MVP of the 2004 ALCS and 2013 World Series.
Ortiz has been a core member of three championship Red Sox teams, and along the way he's put together a compelling Hall of Fame case. Since the Red Sox, despite their 2015 struggles, may be positioned to contend in 2016, Ortiz to add to his legend before stepping away for good. To that end, it's worth noting that Ortiz in 2015 -- his age-39 season -- batted a robust .273/.360/.553 with 37 homers. So even at an advanced baseball age, Big Papi is still capable of producing at a high level.
Even if the Hall doesn't await him, his place in Boston sports lore is unassailable.
Ohhhhhhhh would you look who is retiring.... Big Poopi. In all seriousness tough day for Red Sox fans. Ortiz single handedly won that franchise two World Series. Dude loved nothing more than dropping F bombs on live t.v. and hit ding dongs over that two foot fence in right at Fenway.
As a Yankee fan this is sweet in two separate ways.... The first is that one of the biggest Yankee killers of the past decade is now officially gone. The other is that none through a bigger hissy fit about the Jeter\Mariano goodbye tours than Papi himself.
The true injustice that will be done at the end of this whole thing is going to be that Big Papi wont end up in the Cooperstown. Numbers that automatically meant you were a first ballot Hall of Famer like 500+ homeruns now raise nothing but red flags to the voters for the Hall. Even I as one of the biggest Ortiz haters ever think that for his contributions to the Yankees lovable step brother (Red Sox nation) deserves to be in it.
But in the end...... Queue the MOTHER FUCKING MUSIC
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