David Ortiz Adamant About Retirement Despite Success
BOSTON (CBS) -- With the way he's performing on the field, it may not look it took a lot for David Ortiz to get into form for the final season of his career.
Even at the age of 40, the Boston slugger remains one of the best hitters in all of baseball. His ridiculous 1.133 OPS leads all hitters in baseball, with his .342 average, 18 homers and 59 RBIs all in the top three among AL hitters.
But make no mistake. This is will be Ortiz's final season. There will be no changing his mind when the Red Sox are done playing in October, whether that be October 1 or much later in the month. After 20 years in the big leagues the preparation it takes to get ready for a season, and for each game on a nightly basis, have finally caught up to Ortiz.
"I have to put a lot into it to get prepared for the game. [For a] 7 p.m. game I'm here by noon as part of my preparation every day. There's a lot that comes with it. The reality is, at some point it kind of wears you out and that's why I made the decision I made," Ortiz told WBZ-TV's Dan Roche on Sunday. "My problem isn't being able to hit or produce, because I know how to do that. People, in their minds, they believe as you get older you're supposed to shut things down. It depends on where you want to be. I work extremely hard on my hitting every day. I put a lot of pride in it and I know this ball club and myself when it comes to offense. I love hitting; that's what I do. Whatever it takes and whatever I have to do to keep up with it."
So knowing this would be his last hurrah, Ortiz did all he could to assure that his final season would be one of his best. That determination has continued throughout the campaign, and while there are very few signs of Ortiz slowing down on the field, it's catching up elsewhere. Legging out doubles wreak havoc on his Achilles, which has bothered him since a 2012 injury that ended Ortiz's season in July after just 90 games.
That's why Ortiz is adamant that he won't be changing his mind when the 2016 Red Sox season hits the history books. It's a decision he's sticking to, no matter how well he's playing when the season comes to an end.
"That's what's going to be. I'm still prepared for that," he told Roche. "There are a lot of things in life that are as important as your career too.
"I want to be able to be part of it before I get to be your age," he said to Roche with a giant grin. "You're 60 now, right? OK, 50."
The ability to hit a baseball may someday escape Ortiz, but his personality and sense of humor will never leave. And if his big bat does leave him as he closes out his final season, however unlikely that looks, he's confident a young crop of Boston sluggers can carry the load. It's something he's witnessed firsthand through 62 games, and motivates him to continue to be "Big Papi" at 40 years old.
"Hey look, this is impressive. I know the fans are having so much fun right now watching these kids. When you see Jackie Bradley Jr., Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, Travis Shaw and everything they're doing," said Ortiz. "It gives me goosebumps. It motivates me. I walk out of my house every day with the mentality, 'Man, I'm walking into this group now so I better bring something to the table.' When you look at things that way, you're definitely going to have a good result."
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