Boston Red Sox's David Ortiz in a Saturday, Sept. 12, 2015, game in St. Petersburg, Fla. (ap)
Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz is reportedly retiring at the end of the 2016 season, Fox Sports reported Tuesday.
Ortiz, who turns 40 on Wednesday, will end a 19-year MLB career – 13 of which have been with the Red Sox.
The Dominican-American slugger has not commented on the report. A rep for the Red Fox told Fox News Latino that the team will only comment if Ortiz has something to announce.
“Big Papi” began his major league career with the Minnesota Twins in September 1997, batting 58 home runs and 238 RBIs with six seasons. He signed as a free agent with the Red Sox in January 2003.
Ortiz, a nine-time All-Star selection and six-time Silver Slugger award winner, went on to win the World Series in 2004, 2007 and 2013 – wining the World Series MVP honors in 2013. His postseason heroics – when his walk-off homerun helped spur a 3-0 comeback against the New York Yankees in the American League Championship series in 2004 – have made him a New England legend.
Last season, he cemented his status as one of the game’s greatest designated hitters when he clubbed his 500th career homer. Currently, Ortiz has 503 homers, averages .284 batting with 1,641 RBIs.
Ortiz has a contract with the Red Sox through 2017. He told FNL in July 2014 that once he retires from baseball, he will want a farewell tour that will rival those of New York Yankees’ Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter.
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