4:04 pm | June 10, 2019 | Go to Source | Author:
David Ortiz helped his adopted city recover from the Boston Marathon bombings. And now the Boston Red Sox are calling on their fans to reciprocate for their beloved Big Papi.
“We all remember in 2013 when we needed David Ortiz the most, he was there for us,” team president Sam Kennedy said Monday, a day after the longtime slugger was wounded in a nightclub shooting in his native Dominican Republic. “So it’s appropriate and expected that his community would rally behind David when he needs us most.”
Ortiz, 43, was shot at a club in Santo Domingo. A team of surgeons operated on Ortiz for six hours and removed part of his intestines and colon, as well as his gallbladder. Ortiz also suffered liver damage.
“I didn’t sleep very well last night,” said Red Sox special assistant Jason Varitek, who was Ortiz’s teammate for nearly a decade. “I don’t think anybody did.”
The shooting occurred during Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final and stole the city’s attention from the Bruins victory as fans and former teammates stayed up into the morning searching for information on Ortiz’s condition. Longtime rivals turned to social media to offer their best wishes; former Dominican president Leonel Fernandez visited him in the hospital.
“It shocked us to the core,” Kennedy said. “It was jarring, stunning and, frankly, terrifying. It was a horrific incident. Our focus right now is exclusively to focus on his health and well-being [and] to get David back here in Boston.”
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Former Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek becomes emotional talking about David Ortiz and is very complimentary of his former teammate.
The Red Sox sent an air ambulance to the Dominican Republic to transport Ortiz to Boston, where he will continue his treatment at Massachusetts General Hospital. Kennedy said he hoped Ortiz would be arriving in the city sometime on Monday night.
The team asked fans to observe a moment of reflection shortly before Monday night’s game against the Texas Rangers at Fenway Park and posted on the videoboard: “We send our love to David Ortiz.”
“I just hope when he gets here that everything is fine, and we can see the big man here again with us and filling our room with joy,” manager Alex Cora said. “He’s bigger than life.”
A 10-time All-Star and the Most Valuable Player of the 2013 World Series, Ortiz was one of the most productive — and popular — players in Red Sox history. He led the once-cursed franchise to three championships, and retired in 2016 with a career total of 541 home runs that is 17th-most in baseball history.
“Somebody just asked me what my favorite memory was. And it’s not all the home runs and game winning-hits that he’s had, and the World Series,” Red Sox pitcher Rick Porcello said. “It’s how he embraces everyone in a room. Just that imposing, loving figure that makes everyone feel special. That’s something that you don’t see a lot. That’s what separates him, for me.”
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Derek Jeter talks about the moment he heard David Ortiz had been shot and expresses what Ortiz means to baseball and sports as a whole.
Ortiz further endeared himself to the local fans when he went to the Fenway Park mound after the attacks at the marathon finish line and proclaimed, “This is our f—— city!”
“Everyone knows what he was able to do on the field,” said longtime New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, who is now a Miami Marlins owner. “What he has meant to the community — not only in Boston, but in the Dominican — this is a guy who is beloved throughout the sport and throughout sports in general.”
“He’s obviously an icon on the Mount Rushmore in the city of Boston athletes, but he is the guy in the Dominican Republic,” Red Sox assistant general manager Eddie Romero said. “He’s more famous than any president. When people think of the Dominican Republic, they think David Ortiz, they think of Pedro Martinez.”
Mets second baseman Robinson Cano, a fellow Dominican, added: “He’s an idol for all of us.”
Another famous Boston athlete who also hails from the Dominican Republic, Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro Martinez, was among the first of many to offer prayers for the legendary slugger.
I’m at peace knowing you out of danger; you a strong man Compai, can’t wait to hear your voice. My thoughts and prayers are with you, see you soon.
Me siento tranquilo de saber que estás fuera de peligro, usted es fuerte Compai, ya quiero oírle la voz. Orando, nos vemos pronto pic.twitter.com/jdSnNsM7eI— Pedro Martinez (@45PedroMartinez) June 10, 2019
Red Sox starter David Price played with Ortiz during his last season and said the Boston icon embraced him with open arms.
“I didn’t want it to be anything about me and him; I wanted it to be all about him. And he didn’t want it to be all about him; he wanted it to be about us as a team. So — I’ve got nothing but love and respect for Big Papi, and he’s well aware of that,” Price said.
Mookie Betts echoed that sentiment Monday, saying Ortiz made him feel welcome and at home during his rookie year.
“I can’t speak for other people, but for me, he’s like a big brother and a dad at the same time,” Betts said.
The outpouring of support for Ortiz extended far beyond his former teammates on Monday. President Barack Obama and New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady were among those who sent get-well wishes.
Six years ago, David Ortiz’s spirit and resolve helped us all begin to heal from the Boston Marathon bombing. Today, I want to join many others in wishing him a speedy recovery of his own. Get well soon, Papi. pic.twitter.com/9orpBgnVI5
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) June 10, 2019
Papi defines Boston Strong… get well soon my friend!!! pic.twitter.com/QFFJ4nvQnU
— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) June 10, 2019
The Red Sox retired Ortiz’s No. 34 in 2017, less than a year after he retired, and a street outside the ballpark was renamed in his honor. He remains connected with the ballclub in a special role that includes mentoring current players, recruiting free agents and making special appearances.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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