David Ortiz makes his retirement plans official: ‘After next year, time is up’

On his 40th birthday, Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz made official the news that leaked a day earlier: He plans to retire from baseball after the 2016 season.

Ortiz made the announcement in a video for The Player’s Tribune, the Derek Jeter-run website, saying he was looking forward to his next chapter:

“I thought a lot about it,” Ortiz said. “For every single one of us, athletes-wise, we run out of time at some point and life is based on different chapters and I think I am ready to experience the next one in my life. I picked this day to announce that after next season, I’m going to be done with my career playing baseball. I would like people to remember me as a guy that was just part of the family. A guy that was trying to do the best, not only on the field, but with everyone around him.”

[From Yahoo Sports’ Tim Brown: David Ortiz, both great and flawed, deserves appreciation]

There’s still a matter of baseball — 162 games, in fact, and a healthy Ortiz could help the Red Sox rebound from a rough 2015 season. He can also continue to climb up the all-time home-run ranks. His 503 homers put him in elite company. He’s 27th all-time now, but he should be able to pass WIllie McCovey, Frank Thomas and Ted Williams at 521 (he’d be 19th all-time, if so) and maybe even top Mickey Mantle’s 536 (17th all-time). 

“I’m really proud of what I had accomplished through the years,” Ortiz said. “I’m very thankful for having fans like you guys who have support me through my career. I wish I could play another 40 years … After next year, time is up. So let’s enjoy next season.”

Now, we await the first of many retirement gifts coming Big Papi’s way.

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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