John Farrell Calls David Ortiz’s Retirement Announcement ‘Bittersweet’

David Ortiz’s career will come to an end when the designated hitter retires following the 2016 season, which is “bittersweet” for Boston Red Sox manager John Farrell.

On one hand, Ortiz has earned the yearlong farewell, thanks to his 503 career home runs and three World Series championships, but it also means the Boston manager only has one more season with him in the dugout.

“It was a bittersweet moment because one, you look at a great player who’s able to exit the game on his own terms or at a time he chooses versus the opposite, and at the same time, you look at a guy who’s had a great career, you celebrate it, and you hope that 2016 is one of the strongest years of his career,” Farrell said Tuesday on WEEI’s “Hot Stove Show.”

While it probably will be hard to top his 54 home runs from 2006, Ortiz has continued to put up big numbers for the Red Sox of late. The slugger had 37 homers, 108 RBIs and a .913 on-base percentage in 2015, and he has played at least 137 games in each of the past three seasons.

So, while Ortiz is 40 years old, his retirement did come as a bit of a shock to Farrell.

“Personally, yeah, I was a little bit surprised,” Farrell said. “He’s made mention of it at times. … But you look at the production over the course of his career and there’s never been a drop-off. … From that standpoint alone, you think, ‘This can go on.’ He’s been our best offensive player for the last three years, and from that standpoint, it’s been a luxury to write David Ortiz’s name in the lineup in that three hole or four hole each and every day.”

But that luxury will be gone in 2017, when Farrell will have to put a different name in Ortiz’s usual spot in the order. While it certainly won’t be easy to replace Ortiz’s leadership and production, time must go on for the Red Sox. But that doesn’t mean anyone in Boston will forget what Ortiz has accomplished any time soon.

“The game continues on,” Farrell said. “It doesn’t stop for anyone. The Red Sox have been a long and successful organization and will continue to be so. Now, David’s got an incredible place in history, but when it’s his time to move on, there’ll be another guy we look to move in. And who that is? Time will tell that.

“But no one will forget what David has done for the Red Sox, the city, and I think we all can visualize the day he grabbed the microphone the day after the marathon bombings and he laid it out there. And I think that’s what David did every time he walked on the field is he laid it out there.”

Thumbnail photo via Eileen Blass/USA TODAY Sports Images