David Ortiz

David Ortiz, also known by his nickname "Big Papi," was a Dominican baseball player who won three World Series championships with the Boston Red Sox over the course of a nineteen-year playing career. Born and raised in the Dominican Republic, Ortiz was a standout ballplayer in high school. He was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in 1992 at the age of 17, and spent the next five years honing his ability in the farm leagues. Then in September of 1997, at the age of 21, Ortiz made his major league debut as a member of the Minnesota Twins. Despite showing promise as a hitter, Ortiz spent the next few years languishing as a mediocre player both on the field and at the plate. His time spent with the Twins was also plagued by various knee and wrist injuries, which had him sidelined for dozens of games in the 2002 season. After the 2002 season ended, Ortiz was let go by the organization. His career could have been over but luckily the Boston Red Sox saw untapped potential and signed him as a designated hitter in January of 2003. He hit 31 home runs during that first season with the team and the following year was a driving force in leading the Red Sox to their first World Series Championship since 1918. After the World Series win Ortiz became one of the most recognizable players in all of baseball, with his signature move of pointing to the sky after hitting a home run becoming one of the most recognizable gestures in all of sports. Oritz would help lead the Red Sox to two more World Series wins, in 2007 and 2013, before announcing on his birthday in November of 2015 that the 2016 season would be his last. Ortiz remained a strong local presence in Boston even after his retirement, retaining a home in the city and appearing often in local media. David Ortiz was shot in an apparent assassination attempt in a Dominican nightclub on the night of June 9, 2019, and was airlifted to Boston for further medical attention following initial reports that his injuries were minor. In the coming weeks, prosecutors in the Dominican Republic claimed that Ortiz's attacker had shot the baseball star by accident; his intended target had been another man sitting at Ortiz's table, whom a local drug lord had accused of providing information about him to the police.