Red Sox Dh David Ortiz Is Preparing For His Last Walkoff

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Nov 18, 2025, 2:09 AM

red sox dh david ortiz is preparing for his last walkoff

BOSTON (AP) — Get ready for the ultimate Big Papi walkoff. David Ortiz is retiring after the season, but not before he takes a farewell tour of the major leagues that should allow him to fill a couple of closets with gifts from opponents who... But even as his longtime opponents try to fete the foe who upended so many ninth-inning leads, the Red Sox designated hitter says he also wants to thank the fans — including those who... “Whatever team you’re cheering for — you’re supporting me because you are a baseball fan,” Ortiz said this spring as he looked ahead to his farewell tour. “So I’m going to show my appreciation to everyone.” Ortiz announced on his 40th birthday in November that 2016 would be his final season.

Since then, the Red Sox have been planning a going-away party befitting the player who helped end their 86-year dynasty of disappointment and lead the franchise to three World Series titles. The festivities started this week in Fort Myers, Florida, where a street outside the team’s spring ballpark was named “David Ortiz Way.” After his final home spring training game, Ortiz was chauffeured off the... The Boston Red Sox had an interesting season last year. It all started with the Rafael Devers drama, and once he was traded, the team was able to focus fully on baseball again. Even though Devers didn’t want to be just a DH, he was putting up strong numbers before the trade. “It took Devers a while to settle into DH duties, but lately, he's been thriving.

He's coming off a nine-game stretch with an OPS over 1.200, but now, his position has once again become a topic of conversation,” SI’s Jackson Roberts wrote. In an interview on the ITM Podcast, Hall of Famer David Ortiz made it clear he hopes the Red Sox sign Pete Alonso over Kyle Schwarber as the team’s next DH. “Either way you can be satisfied," Ortiz told Joey Copponi and Scott Neville on the "ITM Podcast" on Friday. "You're talking about two monsters. But if I had to pick one, because I have Roman Anthony as a left-handed batter, I would go with a right-handed bat. There are a lot of left-handed power pitchers coming out of the bullpen.

Which with these guys, they don't really care. But you know (opponents) are going to be doing the match-ups. When you have two lefties, one behind the other. I think we've loaded up really well with lefties. One right-handed power hitter to take advantage of the monster, it'll be a plus.” While Alonso has spent his entire career with the New York Mets, his comments during the season suggest he isn’t necessarily thinking about leaving.

The Boston Red Sox are absolutely hungry for postseason baseball. And when it comes to what that feels like, there’s no one who knows it better than Big Papi himself. David Ortiz didn’t just play in October—he owned it. The Hall of Fame-designated hitter made clutch moments a part of his DNA. His walk-offs? Legendary.

After three years of playoff disappointment, the Boston Red Sox are finally believing they have the roster to get back to October. But what’s even more encouraging? It looks like the moves the Red Sox have made to put themselves back in playoff contention have earned the seal of approval from none other than their former clutch hitter. In an interview with Tom Caron of NESN, Ortiz expressed his opinion as to why this is a different season for the Red Sox. When asked if he thought this team could make one more run in the playoffs, Ortiz wasted no time. “I think so,” said the Boston icon.

“I’ll tell you, I always believe in teams that have good pitching. When you have good pitching, you can slow down offense, and you don’t need a whole lot of offense to be able to win games.” Big Papi is a big believer in the 2025 Red Sox 🔥 “I think [the Red Sox are a playoff team]. I always believe in teams that have good pitching. … I think we’re back on track with the pitching that we have this year.” pic.twitter.com/GgptBlhsrj

Looking at David Ortiz in his final Major League Baseball season, one would have assumed he could have played a few more seasons. He had a year most MLB players would kill for. Although he was 40, the Boston Red Sox DH led the league in doubles, RBIs, and slugging percentage. Recently, the Hall of Fame hopeful admitted he simply ran out of gas but also spoke about something else that concerned him had he pushed his career along another year. After Ortiz spent 20 years in the big leagues and retired in 2016, he finds himself on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot for the first time. Big Papi spent the last 14 years of his illustrious career with the Red Sox, where he became a fan favorite.

He also turned into a superstar. Boston signed Ortiz when the Minnesota Twins released him after the 2002 season. That year, he had his best season with 20 home runs and 75 RBIs. In his first year in Boston, Ortiz began a string of five straight seasons with 100-plus RBIs when he drove in 101 runs and smacked 31 home runs. Ortiz went on to collect 483 home runs in a Red Sox uniform, giving him 541 for his career. In Boston, he won three World Series titles and was a 10-time All-star.

He was known for his clutch postseason performances with the Red Sox. Ortiz has a strong shot of becoming a first-ballot Hall of Famer. According to Ryan Thibodaux, who is keeping tabs on the public ballots, Ortiz has 83.6% of the votes with 150 ballots on file. In order to get in, a player must receive 75% of the votes. It’s been nine years since David Ortiz played his final game, but he never stops thinking about what the Red Sox need to win. The Hall of Fame slugger remains – to borrow a phrase from this year’s squad – ‘tremendously locked in’ on the Red Sox state of affairs.

Even as he hosted droves of superstar athletes, celebrities and fans at his 17th annual “Weekend with Papi” Celebrity Golf Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., this weekend, he couldn’t help but offer an... “(Alex) Bregman just went for the free agency, hopefully we can work something out for him,” Ortiz told the Herald over Zoom. “He did it all here. He got really good leadership, he did what we were expecting from him. Even going through some injuries, he represented very well himself and this organization… Hopefully lock him in, because good players are always going to be good players.” “We know what we need.

We probably need a couple more power hitters that give support to the lineup,” Ortiz continued. “Pitching-wise, we are looking really good… I think our front office is going to be on a mission this offseason, because like I said, we are not too far away from facing a World... We just need to try to stay healthy, add a couple of more pieces, and I think we will be good to go.” Ortiz still says ‘We’ when referring to the Red Sox because he never really left. Less than a year after his last game, he signed a ‘forever’ contract to remain with the club in a multifaceted role that includes player mentor, special advisor, and ambassador. He makes regular appearances at spring training and Fenway Park throughout the seasons.

Related Topics: American League, David Ortiz, Base on balls, Walk-off home run SAN DIEGO -- David Ortiz ended his All-Star Game career with quite a walk off. The popular Big Papi was embraced by nearly every member of the American League roster on Tuesday night when he was replaced by a pinch runner and strolled back to the dugout. The 40-year-old Boston Red Sox designated hitter has said he will retire after this season. The Boston Red Sox have had to manage a delicate situation with some of their best players during spring training, and it looks like they got some serious help from Big Papi. Red Sox manager Alex Cora revealed on Wednesday that Rafael Devers will be the team's full-time designated hitter in 2025.

While widely expected, the change is one that Devers resisted — both publicly and privately. Alex Bregman, an elite defensive third baseman who won a Gold Glove last year, signed a three-year, $120M contract with the Red Sox in the offseason. Devers, who has played third in Boston throughout his career, initially made it abundantly clear that he had no interest in becoming a DH. He eventually softened his stance and said he was willing to do whatever the team asked of him. So what changed? While we can't say for sure, we do know that David Ortiz spent a lot of time with Devers during spring training.

Would love to hear this conversation. Hall of Fame DH David Ortiz chatting with Rafael Devers on the way out to infield practice today. pic.twitter.com/pRrOWNf0zl Send this article to your social connections. Send this article to your social connections. If rookie outfielder Roman Anthony’s 27 extra-base hits, 32 RBI, 40 walks, and .292 batting average across 71 games with the Red Sox in 2025 weren’t impressive enough to you, let David Ortiz convince...

Ortiz, a three-time World Series champion with the Red Sox and a member of MLB’s 500 home run club, paid attention to Anthony’s short but memorable first professional season this past year. He liked what he saw from the former first-round draft pick. “When you have a guy that talented, that young and that mature, that’s the full package,” Ortiz said on the “Fenway Rundown” podcast. “You know you have a face of the franchise. A guy like him, you know your money is worth it. That’s why we gave him that big deal out of the gate, right away, because he’s worth that much.”

Red Sox Dh David Ortiz Is Preparing For His Last Walkoff

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