David Ortiz has just 12 regular season games left in his major league career after Monday, but he’s clearly still at the top of his game.
The Boston Red Sox designated hitter proved as much Monday night in a fifth-inning at-bat against Baltimore Orioles starter Dylan Bundy. Ortiz took a knee-high changeup from Bundy and golfed into the right field seats at Camden Yards for a two-run home run that gave Boston a four-run lead at the time.
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Ortiz’s blast was the 538th homer of his career, as he now trails Mike Schmidt by just 10 home runs at No. 17 on Major League Baseball’s all-time list. Big Papi also now has 35 homers on the season, marking the seventh time in his 20-year career he’s reached the 35-homer plateau.
Perhaps more impressively, the 40-year-old slugger became the oldest player ever to hit 35 homers in a season. He also tied former Oakland Athletics first baseman Dave Kingman for the most homers in a final season, but Kingman was 37 years old during that 1986 campaign.
In short, we’re witnessing one of the greatest final campaigns ever from Big Papi, and it’s still not done yet.
Thumbnail photo via Tommy Gilligan/USA TODAY Sports Images
