David Ortiz Most Memorable Career Moments Mlb Com

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Nov 17, 2025, 8:39 PM

david ortiz most memorable career moments mlb com

David Ortiz, a key figure in the Boston Red Sox's three World Series championships, will retire at the end of the 2016 season, with an announcement expected Wednesday. Known as Big Papi, the designated hitter played 20 major league seasons – 14 with the Red Sox – and slugged 504 home runs and counting. From his clutch postseason hitting to his f-bomb heard ‘round the world, Ortiz leaves a rich legacy in New England. A look back at some of his greatest moments, in order by date: April 5, 2016: In his final Opening Day game of his career, David Ortiz hits a two-run home run off Trevor Bauer of the Cleveland Indians. It was his fifth career home run on Opening Day -- the most of any active player -- and 504th, tying Eddie Murray for 26th all time.

April 27, 2003: As a pinch hitter, David Ortiz hits his first home run in a Red Sox uniform, a go-ahead, 14th-inning home run off the Anaheim Angels' Mickey Callaway. By June, he becomes the club's full-time designated hitter. 1849: The first uniforms are crafted by utilizing wool as the primary material – aligning early baseball clubs with organizations of higher status. During this period, cotton is the cheaper fabric of choice but is often associated with the unfashionable working class thread. 1882: This season may win the award for the boldest experiment in baseball uniform history. The written rules of the game state that a different color must denote each position.

For instance, first basemen resemble candy canes as they play ball in scarlet-and-white-striped hats and shirts. No matter the team or positions, the rules call for each player to wear a white tie, belt, and pants. 1888: Several 19th-century baseball teams introduce pinstriped uniforms in an attempt to enhance player aesthetic. Although introduced in the late 1870s, laced-front shirts are the style of choice through the 1890s to keep the players’ uniforms on. 1897: Up until this year, a few teams continue to don shield-front uniforms – an 1870s nod to volunteer fire company outfits. The Boston Beaneaters give a final attempt during the 1897 season to revive the shield-front uniforms, but the shields are fully phased out by the turn of the century.

1912: A throwback uniform that is first worn by the Chicago Cubs in 1909 features the use of the soon-to-be favorite “standing” collar, which is worn in a military-style. A success timeline featuring the most significant achievements of David Ortiz. David Ortiz, nicknamed "Big Papi," is a Dominican-American former designated hitter who played 20 MLB seasons (1997-2016), mainly for the Boston Red Sox. After playing six seasons with the Minnesota Twins, he became a cornerstone of the Red Sox, helping end their 86-year World Series drought in 2004 and winning further championships in 2007 and 2013, earning... During his first five seasons with the Red Sox, Ortiz averaged 41 home runs and 128 RBIs, twice leading the AL in RBIs and setting a team record of 54 home runs in 2006. He consistently ranked among the top five in AL MVP voting during those five years.

In 2004, David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez became the first pair of AL teammates since Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in 1931 to both hit 40 home runs, have 100 RBIs, and bat .300. In 2006, David Ortiz tied Jimmie Foxx's single season Red Sox home run record of 50 that was set in 1938. In 2004, David Ortiz continued his strong performance, hitting his 100th career home run on May 28th and signing a two-year contract extension with the Red Sox for $12.5 million. He earned his first All-Star selection, hitting a home run in the All-Star Game. In July, he was suspended for three games following an incident in a game against the Angels. He concluded the 2004 season with impressive stats, including 41 home runs and 139 RBI, earning him his first Silver Slugger award.

David Ortiz put together quite the collection of signature moments throughout his 16-year career as the Red Sox's designated hitter. From spearheading Boston's historic 2004 ALCS comeback against the New York Yankees with walkoffs on back-to-back nights, to his 8th inning, game-tying grand slam against the Detroit Tigers in the 2013 ALCS that sent... Speaking with Sports Illustrated as part of his partnership with Topps, promoting their Bowman Baseball 2025 collection, Ortiz credited his upbringing for developing his clutch gene. "I think it's all come from where I come from," said Ortiz. "I grew tough, man, I grew up, you know, in a country where, back then more than now, [there] used to be a lack of opportunity ... I grew up in a family that basically [taught] me how to take advantage of opportunity because they don’t come from bunch, you know?

So I always took my job very serious, I always tried to be a step ahead of things." The eldest of four siblings from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Ortiz devoted himself to baseball from an early age. Just after turning 17, he signed his first professional contract with the Seattle Mariners. Before that, he played Winter Ball —an experience he says helped him perform in the biggest moments: "The being clutch part of the game is very well associated with playing Winter Ball in the Dominican," Ortiz continued. "I mean, it's not the same to have friends and family expecting you to come through, watching you play baseball, then just having random people [in the MLB] ...

Your family, your friends, your close people, they come to watch you play. The word on the street is that you are the bada—, so you want to show them that you are the bada—. This is an accepted version of this page David Américo Ortiz Arias (born November 18, 1975), nicknamed "Big Papi", is a Dominican-American former professional baseball designated hitter who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1997 to 2016, primarily for the... After playing parts of six seasons with the Minnesota Twins, Ortiz moved to the Red Sox, where he played a leading role in ending the team's 86-year World Series championship drought in 2004, as... In his first five seasons with the club, he averaged 41 home runs and 128 runs batted in (RBIs), leading the American League (AL) twice in the latter category and setting the team's single-season...

Used almost exclusively as a DH during his 14 seasons with the Red Sox, he was a ten-time All-Star and a seven-time Silver Slugger winner, and became regarded as one of the greatest designated... He posted ten seasons each with 30 home runs and 100 RBIs, and batted .300 or better seven times. After a drop in his offensive numbers from 2008 to 2012, he enjoyed a strong resurgence in his last four seasons, and had one of his best years in his final campaign, leading the... Upon his retirement, Ortiz ranked sixth in AL history with 541 home runs, fifth in doubles (632) and ninth in RBIs (1,768). Regarded as one of the greatest clutch hitters of all time,[2] he had 11 career walk-off home runs during the regular season and two during the 2004 postseason, the first of which clinched the... In 2022, Ortiz was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.

David Américo Ortiz Arias was born on November 18, 1975, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, as the oldest of four children of Enrique (Leo) Ortiz and Ángela Rosa Arias. As a boy, he followed the careers of standout pitcher Ramón Martinez and his younger brother Pedro, attending games whenever he could and building a friendship with Pedro that would only grow over the...

David Ortiz Most Memorable Career Moments Mlb Com

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