Report: David Ortiz Hasn't Expressed Interest In Playing In World Baseball Classic
BOSTON (CBS) -- We all know that David Ortiz's career in Major League Baseball is over. But might Big Papi still be partaking in international exhibitions?
Well, no.
According to Jon Morosi, the retired slugger has not shown any interest in playing in the upcoming World Baseball Classic, which will take place in March.
David Ortiz has not expressed interest in playing for the Dominican @WBCBaseball team, general manager Moises Alou told me tonight. @MLB
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) January 11, 2017
Ortiz, 40, has participated in the tournament, representing the Dominican Republic, in 2006 and in 2009. Ortiz played in seven games in the tournament's first year in '06, batting just .150 (3-for-20), but all three of his hits were home runs. He also walked eight times and drove in five runs.
In just three games in '09, he batted .250 (2-for-8) with a double, three walks and an RBI.
While Ortiz has made his retirement official and has expressed no public desire to return to the game, he did set off a storm of speculation this week with one simple tweet:
— David Ortiz (@davidortiz) January 10, 2017
The blank message prompted even The Boston Globe to wonder what was going on, and Morosi himself suggested the Dominican team should pursue Big Papi in order to fill a roster void left by Edwin Encarnacion. But it would appear at this time that the days of Ortiz swinging a bat in front of crowds are still over.