Over the winter Red Sox DH David Ortiz announced the 2016 season will be his last as a player. He's going to retire following the season after 20 productive years in the big leagues, including 14 in Boston.
Although Ortiz has said he doesn't want a farewell tour a la Chipper Jones, Paul Konerko, Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, he may end up getting one anyway. I'm sure teams around the league will give him gifts and whatnot as he comes through town for the last time.
Ortiz will make his final regular-season trip to Yankee Stadium from Sept. 27-29, in the second to last series of the year. He told Kevin Kernan of the New York Post he hopes fans in the Bronx will give him a standing ovation.
“You know what I want most of all?’’ Big Papi told The Post on Tuesday at JetBlue Park. “I would love it if the fans at Yankee Stadium gave me a standing ovation.’’
To be fair, Red Sox fans gave Jeter and Rivera standing ovations during their last visits to Fenway Park a few years ago. It's only fair for Yankee fans to reciprocate with Ortiz, right?
Of course, Big Papi has tortured the Yankees over the years. He's a career .306/.395/.565 hitter with 47 home runs in 224 games against New York. That includes a .237/.339/.480 line with 12 homers in 52 games at the current incarnation of Yankee Stadium.
I'm sure the Yankees will do something to honor Ortiz in September after the Red Sox honored Jeter and Rivera. Will the fans give him a standing ovation? My guess is they will do so begrudgingly.