Jones: 'No Way' Retiring David Ortiz Doesn't Want A Farewell Tour
BOSTON (CBS) -- It was reported Tuesday that Red Sox legend David Ortiz plans to retire after the 2016 season. Ortiz turns 40 on Wednesday and has previously said he's not interested in a "farewell tour" that Hall-of-Famers like Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter got over the course of their final seasons.
But as Adam Jones and Rich Keefe pointed out Tuesday night, Ortiz has never shied away from the spotlight - and the timing of his announcement suggests that he's changed his mind about that farewell.
"David Ortiz wants to make himself the center of attention - a lot of times he deserves it, by the way, I'm not begrudging him that - but a lot of times he wants to make himself the center of attention, so there was no way he's going to pass on the Mariano Rivera/Derek Jeter farewell tour. He wasn't going to."
Rich Keefe added that the Red Sox would clearly benefit from having advanced knowledge of Ortiz's impending retirement, for the myriad of marketing opportunities and events they could take advantage of throughout the 2016 season.
"I think [the Red Sox] did have a lot to gain knowing that their star player, who had been with the team and been the face of the franchise for years, was going out in a year," he said.
Jones wanted to stay consistent with his take on Ortiz's potential farewell tour, so he said it would be just as "draining" and "nauseating" as the retirement tours for Rivera, Jeter, Chipper Jones, and other recently retired stars. And he called for Red Sox fans to do the same.
"However you felt about Rivera, if you liked it then you're OK with liking the Ortiz one. If you hated it, you can't just turn around now and just like it because it's your guy and it's a [a Red Sox player]."
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