BOSTON (WHDH) - Former Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz opened up about his recent near-death experience on Monday and said that he is grateful to be alive as he continues to recover from injuries he suffered when he was shot in his native Dominican Republic in June.
“You have a scar that every time you step in front of the mirror it makes you think about that moment,” Ortiz told 7’s Joe Amorosino.
In the days and weeks following the shooting, rumors started to swirl as investigators worked to piece together the case. Ortiz says everything that was said about him is false.
“Everything got out of control. People started making up stories. That I was being chased by a car, that I got shot because of a woman,” he said. “All that crazy stuff, I was like whoa, whoa, whoa.”
He was shot at nearly point-blank range after he was ambushed at a Santo Domingo bar. He later spent nearly two months at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he underwent three surgeries.
Ortiz, who told the Univision Network that he has no enemies, says he will most definitely exercise extreme caution whenever he returns to his home country.
“There are bad people out there. They’re careless. They don’t care. That wasn’t the way I used to see things,” he said. “I never thought anyone would do something like that to me.”
Ortiz was sitting with his back to the street when he was shot.
“You learn,” Ortiz said. “I’m just going to have to be more careful.”
The longtime baseball star says he is healthy once again and “crushing food.”
For the first time since returning to the public spotlight, Ortiz was not wearing sunglasses as he sat down for one-on-one interviews at Fenway Park.
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