Report: David Ortiz will retire after 2016 season with Red Sox
You can’t be Big Papi forever. At least not the home-run hitting version we know of him now. And so, David Ortiz will reportedly retire after the 2016 season with the Boston Red Sox.
[Related: What’s next? This is likely just the start for Kris Bryant and Carlos Correa]
That news comes to us from Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, though neither Ortiz nor the Red Sox have confirmed it themselves:
Get ready for a farewell tour, folks, because Ortiz — who turns 40 on Wednesday — has never been one to shy away from the spotlight. He’s not as universally loved as Mariano Rivera was, but Ortiz still ought to garner considerable celebration around baseball. We’re already imagining the gifts Ortiz is going to get, as he waves goodbye to fans all over baseball.
Ortiz passed the 500-homer mark last season. So he enters 2016 with 503 homers and 1,641 career RBIs. The homers put him 27th all-time, but he ought to be able to get into the top 20 so long as he stays healthy. Ortiz hit 37 homers last season and 35 in 2014. If Ortiz hits, say, 35 homers, he’d finish his career with 538, which would make him 17th all-time between Mike Schmidt and Mickey Mantle.
[Related: You can play as David Ortiz in Fallout 4 but probably not for long]
The biggest question looming around Ortiz is what happens after baseball. Specifically: Is he a Hall of Famer? No designated hitter has made it before. That includes Edgar Martinez, who is in now in eighth year on the ballot. Ortiz, with the 500-homer-club co-sign, seems to have a stronger case than Martinez, though some voters will surely hold his DH status against him. He’s been linked to PEDs in the past, but he’s never been punished for a failed test and adamantly denies using them. Still, we’ve seen Hall of Fame cases clouded for less.
There will be lots of time to argue about the Hall. For now, Ortiz is preparing for one last season with the Red Sox. Since it’s Big Papi, you can expect plenty of personality and plenty of pageantry.
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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz
