David Ortiz’s torrid start at age 40 to what he says is his last season with the Red Sox hasn’t changed his mind about retirement, he tells Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan.
Then again, should somebody come across with $25 million for next season….?
It sounded playful, but could it be Big Papi (.319, 10 homers, 34 RBI, MLB-leading 1.069 OPS) keeping the door open a crack?
A few excerpts from the Yahoo story:
I’m good with the decision that I’m making because I’ve been thinking about it for a while,” Ortiz said. “It’s been a couple years. Because your body, man. Your body tells you. My body, man. My body’s pretty beat up. Remember, if you look at guys my size, they don’t last. I noticed that seven or eight years ago. That’s why I needed to start doing things right. I lost 25 pounds. I started eating better, do things better. But let me tell you: It’s not easy, man.”
“I’m happy with the decision that I made,” Ortiz said, “and my feet are happy with the decision that I made, and my wife is happy with the decision that I made. I’ve got to wait until next year when I ain’t doing [expletive] to see how it’s gonna hit home. Because I’m not gonna lie to you, I don’t know. I think I played enough baseball.”
“Hopefully,” he said, “nobody comes to me and offers $25 million, either.”
“I don’t even want to talk about it,” Ortiz said. “Like I said, I’m good with the decision that I made right now. But would you leave $25 million on the table? I don’t want nobody to offer me that.
By the way, the Red Sox do hold team options that max out at $16 million for the next two seasons.