Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz, off to a slow start in 2015, knows he can’t ignore the retirement whispers that seem to be getting louder.
The 39-year-old Ortiz, who has team options in his contract for the next two seasons, said retiring isn’t on the top of his mind despite his offensive struggles.
“What can I tell you, man?” Ortiz said Tuesday. “A lot of people looked at me like that (six) years ago, and here I am still. I don’t have no timetable for (retirement). I don’t think anybody has it, either. If it happens, who cares, man, I’m just another player that comes in and comes out. Everybody’s time is up at some point. I don’t think that’s my problem, though. I’ll keep on trying like I normally do.”
Ortiz was on a 1-for-20 skid, dropping his batting average to .216, when manager John Farrell gave the slugger back-to-back games off last week.
With three hits in eight at-bats over the weekend and one hit Tuesday night, Ortiz is hitting .224 overall with six home runs and 18 RBIs.
Majority owner John W. Henry continues to show support for Ortiz, who has won three World Series titles since becoming a Red Sox in 2003.
“I think everyone in New England was concerned about that in 2009,” Henry said. “That was the main discussion in May 2009. … To me, at least in the last few games, after taking off a couple of games, he was really driving the ball to the opposite field. To me, that’s a big positive step.
“The guy is, he’s the best hitter I’ve seen for the Red Sox for a long time. He’s not in his prime and he’s not going to hit 50 home runs. But is he going to hit 30? It doesn’t look like it this year. Is he getting older? Yes. But I don’t think any of us know (when it ends).
“I talked to him (Monday). He’s upbeat about his swing. We can talk about David, but we’ve got nine guys batting every day and we’ve had some terrible at-bats. Our approach has been suspect. But I think we have the right hitting coach, we have the right hitters, I think they’ll get it together. We’ll see.”
The Red Sox are in last place in the American League East with a 23-29 record, 4 1/2 games behind the first-place New York Yankees.