BOSTON --- Exactly three months to the day after being shot in his native Dominican Republic, David Ortiz made his return to Fenway Park on Monday night.
The former Red Sox slugger bounded up the steps of the first base dugout and onto the field to throw out a ceremonial first pitch prior to Boston’s matchup with the Yankees. Ortiz looked fit and strong while wearing his white No. 34 jersey snapped over a dark shirt and designer jeans. Gold-rimmed sunglasses shielded any [...]
BOSTON --- Exactly three months to the day after being shot in his native Dominican Republic, David Ortiz made his return to Fenway Park on Monday night.
The former Red Sox slugger bounded up the steps of the first base dugout and onto the field to throw out a ceremonial first pitch prior to Boston’s matchup with the Yankees. Ortiz looked fit and strong while wearing his white No. 34 jersey snapped over a dark shirt and designer jeans. Gold-rimmed sunglasses shielded any emotion as Ortiz addressed a roaring crowd for about a minute.
“I want to thank all of you for all your prayers,” Ortiz said. “All of them came home. I really appreciate it – thank you very much.”
Ortiz suffered a single gunshot wound to the lower back on June 9 at a Santo Domingo nightclub. He was rushed to a private hospital suffering from injuries to his liver, intestines and bowel. Ortiz underwent multiple surgeries both in the Dominican Republic and at Massachusetts General Hospital, with the Red Sox arranging for private air transport back to his adopted home in suburban Boston.
“You’re well aware of what happened to me, and they were the first people there supporting me,” Ortiz said. “Thank you very much, Red Sox family.”
Players from both the Red Sox and Yankees stood in front of their respective dugouts as Ortiz threw high and wide to former teammate Jason Varitek. The two men shared a warm embrace at the center of the diamond, as both played a significant part in helping Boston collect its four championships this century. Varitek remains on the Red Sox staff as a special assistant and was visibly shaken when addressing the media the day after Ortiz’s shooting.
“I didn’t sleep very well last night,” Varitek said at the time. “I don’t think anybody did that knew. We spent a lot of time trying to figure out what was going on.”
Ortiz took in the first few innings from the owner’s box adjacent to the first base dugout. He was joined by his wife, Tiffany, and was sharing a bag of sunflower seeds with Boston manager Alex Cora. Ortiz has welcomed a steady stream of visitors at his area home in recent weeks, including Cora and New York’s Edwin Encarnacion and Gary Sanchez.
“I want to thank my former teammates for being there for me,” Ortiz said. “All of them came to check up on their boy. Also, I want to thank the Yankees. A lot of my boys over there came to check up on Big Papi.”
bkoch@providencejournal.com
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