| NET WORTH: | $50 Million |
|---|---|
| Source of Wealth: | Baseball player, Actor |
| Born: | November 18, 1975 |
| Age: | 45 |
| Birth Name: | David Americo Ortiz Arias |
| Height: | 6ft. 4in. (1.95m) |
David Ortiz or best known as "Big Papi" is a former professional baseball player, who played twenty seasons in Major League Baseball for Boston Red Sox. He holds the record for home runs with 54, and during his 14 season in Red Sox he was ten-time All-star, a seven-time Silver Slugger, and a three-time World Series champion.
Early life
David Americo Ortiz Arias was born on November 18, 1975 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic to Enrique Ortiz and Angela Rosa Arias as the eldest of their four children.
He attended Estudia Espaillat High School and was an outstanding basketball and baseball player in their school. Growing up, he was inspired by Ramon Martinez, a standout pitcher, and Pedro Martinez, who is Ramon's brother and is also a famous player for Red Sox.
Career
In 1994, Ortiz made his professional debut for the Mariners of the Arizona League. On November 28, 1992, just 10 days after his 17th birthday, he was signed and listed as "David Arias" by Seattle Mariners. Ortiz was promoted in 1996 to Single-A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers of the Midwest League and establishing himself as one of the Mariners' best hitting prospects.
On September 1996, he was traded as the player to be named later to the Minnesota Twins. He informed the team that he would like to be listed as "David Ortiz" rather than his maternal family name "Arias". In September 2, 1997, Ortiz made his MLB debut for the Twins and played 15 games on the same month. In his season he hit 1 home run and 6 RBI.
In July 1998, Ortiz returned to the Twins after he fractured his wrist on May. Ending his rookie year, he hit a memorable 9 home runs and 46 RBI, all in 86 games. On August 2002, Ortiz hit a home run off his friend, Pedro Martinez at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. Ortiz finished the 2002 season with some 20 memorable home runs and a 75 RBI. After being unable to make a trade for him, the Twins decided to released him as a cost-cutting instead of negotiating a contract or go to arbitration, on December 16 of 2002.
In 2003, Ortiz encountered Pedro Martinez after his release from the Twins, at a restaurant in Dominican Republic. Pedro started calling different Red Sox team officials and requested the team to sign Ortiz. On January the same year, Ortiz has signed a non-guaranteed free-agent contract worth $1.24 million dollars with the Boston Red Sox if he made the team. On July 26, he helped the Red Sox team to play in the AL Championship Series versus the New York Yankees. Ortiz hit his first career postseason home run and finished with 2 home runs, 6 RBIs including his solo home run which gave the Red Sox a 5-2 temporary lead in the eight inning of the decisive Game 7.
In May 2004, Ortiz signed a $12.5 miilion worth of two year contract extension with the Red Sox. He was a ten-time All-star and received his first Silver Slugger award for his outstanding performance at designated hitter. In the 2004 postseason, Ortiz hit 5 home runs with 23 RBIs.
Ortiz signed a four-year contract extension worth $52 million with the team on April 2006. On September 17 of 2009, he hit his 270th home run, breaking the all-time record made by Frank Thomas. The time of his career spent in the Red Sox was a huge success all through his life. He was named as the second greatest hitter in baseball club history in a Boston Globe article in 2014, and was selected as one of the four greatest players in the Boston Red Sox history.
On his 40th birthday, Ortiz announced his retirement from baseball and his final strong play was enough to get the Red Sox into the postseason. During the season 17, his uniform number 34 was retired, as it was announced by the Red Sox during a pregame ceremony for Ortiz in December 2, 2016.
Personal Life
Ortiz's nickname was given to him by Red Sox broadcaster Jerry Remy. Ortiz and his wife Tiffany have three children and the family lived in Miami since Ortiz has retired from baseball.
In January 2002, Ortiz's mother died in a car crash accident. He has a tattoo of his mother on his biceps and would look up and point both index fingers to the sky as a tribute to his late mother every time he hit a home run.
Ortiz founded the David Ortiz Children's Fund in 2007, in order to support and to help children in Boston, Dominican Republic and further on. He released his Charity Wine label in 2008 called, "Vintage Papi", with the proceeds going to the David Ortiz Children's Fund.
Shooting
Ortiz was shot and severely wounded on June 9, 2019, at the Dial Bar and Lounge in East Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The authorities reported that he was ambushed by a a man on a motorcycle and shot him in his back. Ortiz underwent on a six-hour operation. Ortiz was transferred by a medical flight which was sent by the Red Sox to bring him at Massachusetts General Hospital where he underwent a second and third surgery and was released from the hospital on July 2019. The Dominican Attorney General's Office stated that Ortiz was misidentified and was not the intended victim of the crime. The shooting was by the orders of Victor Hugo Gomez Vasquez, a known related with a Mexican drug cartel. The intended victim was a regular patron at the bar, which is Vasquez's cousin. On June 28, Vasquez was arrested.
Net Worth
In Ortiz's career, he has earned over $4.5 million for endorsements alone. As of today, 2020, David Ortiz has an estimated net worth of $50 million.
