If Red Sox slugger David Ortiz could do it all over again, he’d keep his retirement plans to himself until after the season.
Ortiz said as much when speaking to ESPN Deportes on Sunday, and also believes that the focus on him has negatively affected his pregame preparation.
“I’m too busy. I have too many things to do. I barely have time to do anything,” Ortiz said, via ESPN’s Marly Rivera. “It’s very difficult for me. If I had even imagined that it would be so difficult, I wouldn’t have announced anything. There are too many people I have to pay attention to, and on top of that I have to prepare for a game.”
Ortiz’s feet are apparently in bad shape and a big part of the reason his pregame prep is so lengthy.
“Everything hurts,” he said. “It even hurts to think. Last time I reached second after a double, I almost called for a timeout so they would get me out of the game. I can barely run because my feet hurt so much. I am in severe pain.
“One often tries to live in the moment and even when your body is saying no, you say yes, even when your body says not to. Only mental strength convinces you that you can continue. Mental strength tells you that you can keep it at it. But the body is a machine; it will give out and will send you a bill.”
Ortiz says that he’s still mentally sharp, but the foot pain is why he has not reconsidered his decision to retire, despite the fact that he is still playing at a very high level.
“I would love to play a couple more years because this is what I know, and this is what I like to do and you see how people treat me,” Ortiz said. “But unfortunately, when your body tells you it’s enough, it’s enough. You have no idea the magic I have to do to play ball every day.”
Ortiz made it clear that this season would be his last, but perhaps he wasn’t expecting this much attention. If that is the case, it’s hard to see why. Mariano Rivera got a season-long sendoff in similar style in 2013, and Derek Jeter got the same treatment a year later. Ortiz is well-regarded throughout baseball, so this sort of thing was inevitable.
