David Ortiz will retire at end of 2016 season.

TheoShmeo

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This is not much of a surprise given his age and the fact that he surpassed 500 homers.

But I'm glad the Sox will know in advance and have the maximum time to plan. And if anyone deserves a victory lap, it's Papi.
 

rembrat

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Oh yes, an entire seasons worth of unchecked bat flips. Let's do this.
 

Tyrone Biggums

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One of the greatest postseason hitters of all time. Thanks for the memories. One last shot to go out on top!
 

GBrushTWood

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Wow. We all knew this day would arrive, but it's nonetheless jarring to think of this franchise without Ortiz. There is plenty of time in the next year for hagiographies, tears, and all the schmaltz. Yankee fans will probably get a taste our thoughts during Jeter's last year.

I just think it's awesome that pre-Ortiz, the Red Sox were generally considered a joke / losers / bumbling fools. A car wreck along the side of the road that people pointed and stared at. As Ortiz now retires, the perception is nearly the polar opposite: winners (last few years aside) / competitive / have their shit together (2011 aside). In general, baseball fans are more sick of us winning all the time instead of pitying us. The Red Sox are now normal.

Ortiz had as much to do with that 180 as any person over the last 15 years.
 

moondog80

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Are hotels in Cooperstown taking reservations for 2022 yet?
 

edoug

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So where does he fit in the organization? Does he stay in uniform or a front office job.
 

glennhoffmania

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Maybe. But if anyone currently in the game deserves one, it's Ortiz.
He absolutely deserves it and I hope my comment wasn't interpreted as he doesn't. I just don't think the non-stop hype of farewell tours is necessary and after a while it starts getting old.
 

yecul

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Although not a surprising decision and hopefully means he gets to go out off a quality performance year... it still sucks to think his time is almost done. One more ring would be a heck of a way to end.
 

Mike Greenwall

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Wow, changes the entire season for me. It will hang over everything the team does. A farewell tour (ugh), HOF talk (good), and PED's references (shoot me now). More than anything, I'll appreciate every long, slow, deep, soft, home run trots that last three days.

Here's to the greatest Red Sox in playoff history!
 

Leather

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Maybe. But if anyone currently in the game deserves one, it's Ortiz.
Few people outside of Boston (who aren't Sox fans) care that much about Ortiz, just like few people outside of NY cared that much about Jeter. Letting people know in advance that this is his last year is one thing, celebrating his own career above the game(s) about to be played, except for a handful in Boston near the end of the year, would be inappropriate and groan-inducing, as it was for Jeter.
 

E5 Yaz

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The mind boggles at how much bigger Big Papi will be after he no longer needs to stay in playing shape
 

LahoudOrBillyC

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Few people outside of Boston (who aren't Sox fans) care that much about Ortiz, just like few people outside of NY cared that much about Jeter. Letting people know in advance that this is his last year is one thing, celebrating his own career above the game(s) about to be played, except for a handful in Boston near the end of the year, would be inappropriate and groan-inducing, as it was for Jeter.
Jeter's retirement tour had nothing to do with Jeter, or with the Yankees. The fact that the Minnesota Twins chose to give Jeter a five minute ceremony before a game is on them. Jeter could have said, "Can you please just hand me these gifts in private?" but the Twins want the ceremony for their own PR reasons. This was not, as far as I know, something that Jeter planned out with each of the teams.
 

Savin Hillbilly

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The wrong side of the bridge....
It would be awesome if, by winning one more ring this year, he could add Mookie and Blake to the distinguished list of Sox stars he has shared a duck boat ride with.

Oh man. I hope he reconsiders.
I hope he doesn't. The one thing I've dreaded, as Ortiz approaches 40, is that he'll hang on too long and end his career on a note of futility like so many stars do. Declaring that 2016 is the end ahead of time pretty much squashes that, and ensures that his exit will be graceful and positive. Both he and the fans deserve that.
 

brs3

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Few people outside of Boston (who aren't Sox fans) care that much about Ortiz, just like few people outside of NY cared that much about Jeter. Letting people know in advance that this is his last year is one thing, celebrating his own career above the game(s) about to be played, except for a handful in Boston near the end of the year, would be inappropriate and groan-inducing, as it was for Jeter.
Both statements seem to be off. Of course, maybe I'm guessing here, too. You really don't think anyone outside Boston/New York cares about David Ortiz's/Derek Jeter's history within the game? Based on what?
 

nattysez

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Few people outside of Boston (who aren't Sox fans) care that much about Ortiz, just like few people outside of NY cared that much about Jeter. Letting people know in advance that this is his last year is one thing, celebrating his own career above the game(s) about to be played, except for a handful in Boston near the end of the year, would be inappropriate and groan-inducing, as it was for Jeter.
To the contrary, based on my Twitter feed, I'd say there is an active antipathy toward Ortiz outside of Boston because he "did steroids" (don't bother trying to explain to people that this isn't really the case) and has a penchant for watching his homers. I fear that, outside of Boston, his farewell tour may not go the way his agents are envisioning it.
 

Leather

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Jeter's retirement tour had nothing to do with Jeter, or with the Yankees. The fact that the Minnesota Twins chose to give Jeter a five minute ceremony before a game is on them. Jeter could have said, "Can you please just hand me these gifts in private?" but the Twins want the ceremony for their own PR reasons. This was not, as far as I know, something that Jeter planned out with each of the teams.
He implicitly condoned the whole thing by allowing it to continue. And it wasn't just the Twins.
 

E5 Yaz

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You could see Ortiz taking the Rivera route, and meeting with ballpark workers and the like around the league.

If this report is confirmed, his final regular season road games will be in the Bidet
 

glennhoffmania

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Jeter's retirement tour had nothing to do with Jeter, or with the Yankees. The fact that the Minnesota Twins chose to give Jeter a five minute ceremony before a game is on them. Jeter could have said, "Can you please just hand me these gifts in private?" but the Twins want the ceremony for their own PR reasons. This was not, as far as I know, something that Jeter planned out with each of the teams.
Do you know this for a fact? I'm not saying it's false because I honestly have no clue. I'm guessing that he willingly participated in the Gatorade commercial. Did he ask for things to be toned down and MLB and/or the teams said no?
 

PseuFighter

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price of the last game of the season just jumped from $50 to $250 to get in. dang.
 

LahoudOrBillyC

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I hope he doesn't. The one thing I've dreaded, as Ortiz approaches 40, is that he'll hang on too long and end his career on a note of futility like so many stars do. Declaring that 2016 is the end ahead of time pretty much squashes that, and ensures that his exit will be graceful and positive. Both he and the fans deserve that.
He was their best hitter last year, so I was looking forward to him hanging around for a while. Its not like there are other 25 home run hitters (let alone 37 home run hitters) around the team.
 

cornwalls@6

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He absolutely deserves it and I hope my comment wasn't interpreted as he doesn't. I just don't think the non-stop hype of farewell tours is necessary and after a while it starts getting old.
+ 1. I hate those fucking things, and sneered with contempt at Jeter's. Can't be a hypocrite here. Hope they show some restraint. That said, I love the guy, and everything he's done here. One more year to enjoy it. Hope it ends with him getting ring no. 4, or at minimum a good, deep playoff run.
 

Leather

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Both statements seem to be off. Of course, maybe I'm guessing here, too. You really don't think anyone outside Boston/New York cares about David Ortiz's/Derek Jeter's history within the game? Based on what?
Sure, they know him as a very good player with a bunch of great baseball moments. For a team they (more likely than not) are either impartial or ambivalent towards. Other teams' fans don't really need 2004 shoved in their faces yet again while their team struggles toward relevance for another year.

Don't get me wrong: who really cares? It's merely a silly exhibition that's just a sign of the times. I guess when Pujols, Ichiro, Beltran etc... all retire we can expect tours as well, to celebrate their "history within the game", too. I look forward to sports writers using "Did he get a farewell tour?" as a barometer for HOF worthiness.
 

Paul M

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Some legends have come and gone over the last 10+ years, but this one induced a different reaction to me unlike the others. Maybe it's because he's the one constant throughout this run that really started in 2003, and hit bottom a few times and yet still through it all Ortiz basically has put up .900 OPS or better. The team will miss him and I think the connection to the pre-2004 era also dies with him. He's the one guy who gets to retire on his terms and still be among the top hitters in the league. For some reason I thought he'd play 2 more years, but finishing in your age 40 year as a position player is not bad. Plus, the amount of work to prepare your body to handle 150 games and 550 ABs is really tough when you hit 40--as anyone in that age group can attest. He's a tough act to follow and I guess I'm still a little numb for some reason with this one.
 

phrenile

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There's a $10 million team option for 2017 that increases in salary if he reaches 425 PA this year, so he's leaving money on the table by retiring after 2016.
You mean because the club option becomes guaranteed if he hits plate appearance milestones.
  • 1 year/$16M (2015), plus 2016-17 options
    • signed extension with Boston 3/24/14
    • 15:$16M, 16-17:$10M club options
    • if Ortiz passes a team physical, options may become guaranteed based on plate appearances in previous season, with option value increasing to $11M for 425 PAs, $12M for 475 PAs, $13M for 500 PAs, $14M for 525 PAs, $15M for 575 PAs, or $16M (or value of qualifying offer) for 600 PAs
    • if Ortiz does not pass team physical, value of club option may increase to the midpoint of $10M and value for the plate-appearance threshold reached in previous season
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/compensation/cots/al-east/boston-red-sox/
 

Dewy4PrezII

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Few people outside of Boston (who aren't Sox fans) care that much about Ortiz, just like few people outside of NY cared that much about Jeter. Letting people know in advance that this is his last year is one thing, celebrating his own career above the game(s) about to be played, except for a handful in Boston near the end of the year, would be inappropriate and groan-inducing, as it was for Jeter.
I can say that in the DR Ortiz is the man. I was at a resort a few years ago and every employee who saw my B hat talked about Big Papi like he was a god. They were more enamored with Ortiz than Pedro Martinez.