FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The Red Sox celebrated David Ortiz's two decades of spring training in Fort Myers with a pregame ceremony before his final home exhibition game, a 5-3 loss to the Orioles on Monday.
Ortiz announced on his 40th birthday in November that this will be his final season. He trained in Fort Myers first with the Minnesota Twins and then since 2003 with the Red Sox.
Ortiz went 0-for-3 and left after the sixth inning in a golf cart decorated with his number 34 and the flag of the Dominican Republic on its roof. The cart was driven by a pair of former Red Sox starts: Hall of Famer Jim Rice and Luis Tiant.
"Very nice, very nice," Ortiz said. "I've been coming to Fort Myers for a long time. To get to the point where you can get to say goodbye as a player, it's really good.
"It's crazy. I wasn't expecting any of it but it happened. Whenever somebody comes to you with a gift, it's always welcomed, right? The Red Sox and the city of Fort Myers, I really thank them for being so nice."