It’s a question that, at this point, David Ortiz hears on a daily basis.
The Boston Red Sox designated hitter came one strange hop away from hitting for his first career cycle in Sunday’s 5-2 win over the Cleveland Indians at Fenway Park. So, as Ortiz discussed his 4-for-4 performance after the game, it was only a matter of time before someone brought it up.
“Maybe you have to keep playing until you hit for the cycle,” a reporter jokingly told Ortiz.
Ortiz’s reply: “I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
Ortiz announced on his 40th birthday last November that the 2016 season would be his last. But Big Papi’s incredible start to his final campaign has brought that decision into question. After all, how can a guy who enters Monday as a legitimate Most Valuable Player candidate — he leads all of Major League Baseball in slugging percentage (.684), OPS (1.092) and doubles (19), owns a .329 batting average and has 37 RBIs in 40 games — hang them up when he’s at his best?
“I wish he’d have retired last year,” Cleveland Indians manager and old friend Terry Francona said after Sunday’s win. “He’s kind of on a different level right now. It looks like he’s playing softball. He doesn’t swing at balls, and the ones he swings at, man, he just — even the ones he fouls back, you kind of take a deep breath.”
Improbably, it appears Ortiz is becoming a better hitter with age. How? As Ortiz himself recently explained in an interview with Yahoo! Sports’ Jeff Passan, he’s smarter.
“I’m a better hitter now than what I was (expletive) 10 years ago,” Ortiz told Passan. “You know why? Because now I set pitchers up. My mind doesn’t get any confusion. I used to get confused. I’m gonna sit on a slider. Fastball. Boom! Oh, (expletive). Why’d I take that fastball? My whole program I used to change because of that pitch. Now, I decide I’m gonna sit on a slider. Fastball. I don’t care. Fastball. I don’t care. Breaking ball. I don’t care. Changeup. I don’t care. Slider. Here it is.”
There have been days this season when it appears Ortiz is in complete control at the plate. Sunday was one of those days. Needing only a triple in his final at-bat, Ortiz blasted a 3-1 fastball to the triangle in center field — about the only part of Fenway that could allow the hefty DH to lumber into third base. It was as if he picked out a specific spot, decided he was going to hit the ball there, and did just that.
Which brings us back to the big question: Why is a guy who can hit the ball wherever he wants retiring? If the Red Sox reach the playoffs and make any sort of postseason run, Ortiz likely will be a big reason why. If he continues to produce like this with no visible decline, why not come back for one more season (and make more money in the process)?
Only Ortiz knows the answer to this question. He insists he’s at peace with his decision, that the soreness he feels on a daily basis is a sign it’s time to let go. He doesn’t want to be the guy who hangs on too long and drags his team down, especially when that team is brimming with young talent.
Instead, Big Papi is doing just the opposite: playing an impressively significant role on a legitimate contender in his final big league season. He’s going out on top, which is why a change of heart for Ortiz seems all but impossible. Through the first quarter of the season, Ortiz’s retirement tour has gone exactly as planned, and it looks like he’s intent on sticking to the script.
Thumbnail photo via Greg M. Cooper/USA TODAY Sports Images
