The retirements of teammates Tim Wakefield and Jason Varitek are not influencing David Ortiz to follow suit. As he told WEEI.com's Rob Bradford:"I'm not stopping now. It's too much fun."
At 36, Papi is still the most productive DH in the American League. In the last three seasons (in which critics predicted severe fall-offs), he has averaged just under 30 home runs and just under 100 RBIs. And this after a couple of years where his Aprils were anything but picture perfect. The man can still rake—with amazing consistency. Sooner or later, the inevitable will come:
"That's something you don't think about until you're walking into it. I know one day it will be like that for myself. When it's time to go, it's time to go...You get emotional because you know it's going to be your last day on a baseball field as a performer. It brings a lot of memories."
Interestingly, Ortiz is one of the very few who still fit the original DH template—a big, powerful presence in the middle of an order. Lately, teams have gravitated toward toward the "mix and match" approach, rotating two or three players—many with different offensive skills—into the role throughout the year. Papi in a bit of an anachronism. But an anachronism we all love.