NEW YORK, NY (WHDH) — Just ahead of his retirement, David Ortiz is saying thank you to the New York Yankees.
In his letter, published in the Players Tribune, Ortiz talks about why the Yankees were so important to him throughout his childhood and his career with the Boston Red Sox.
Ortiz says growing up in the Dominican Republic, the Yankees were the team to watch.
“Everybody in my country dreamed of going to New York,” Ortiz says. “Not even as a ballplayer, I’m talking just for the opportunity to work a regular job. We looked at New York City like the American dream.
The Yankees were like a symbol of everything.”
For his career, Ortiz has done quite well against the Yankees, hitting .307 with 53 home runs and 171 RBIs against the Bronx Bombers.
In Yankee Stadium (both old and new) he’s hit 31 home runs and driven in 67 runs.
And even to this day Ortiz says New York is still the dream. But playing in Yankee Stadium is different from playing any other team since Ortiz considers himself a Bostonian.
“Some players are born to be Yankees, you know what I’m saying?” says Ortiz. “I was born to play against the Yankees.”
Ortiz mentions how the players he was with for most of his career are retired now and he feels like the old man.
“Sometimes I get outta bed in the morning, and it’s like, Damn. What happened?” Ortiz says. “I got old.”
But going into the game at Yankee Stadium tonight, thinking about his American Dream and a rivalry he is thankful for, Ortiz is ready.
For more on David Ortiz’s Letter click here.
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