David Ortiz, aka Big Papi, is a former professional baseball player who played mostly with the Boston Red Sox. He played in the American League from 1997-2016 and is a ten-time All-Star, a three-time World Series champion, and was also voted the World Series MVP in 2013. His number 34 has been retired by the Boston Red Sox. Get all of the latest David Ortiz news here!
David Ortiz is from Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic, and just ten days after his 17th birthday, he was signed by the Seattle Mariners. He was traded to the Minnesota Twins and played there from 1998-2002.
He was released and picked up by the Boston Red Sox in 2003, where he played until 2016. During his 14 seasons with the Red Sox, Ortiz was used primarily as a designated hitter. He won the Silver Slugger award seven times and is widely regarded as the best designated hitter of all time. He set major league records for career home runs (486), RBI (1,569), and hits (2,192) as a designated hitter. He has 11 career walk-off home runs and was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2022.
In June of 2019, David Ortiz was ambushed in the Dominican Republic and shot in the back. He underwent a six-hour surgery in the DR and was medi flighted back to Boston for further treatment. He underwent a second surgery at Mass General and was able to make a full recovery after six weeks in the hospital.
