The recently retired David Ortiz, affectionately called “Big Papi” by his legion of Boston Red Sox fans and teammates alike, was truly the heart and soul of the club’s lineup ever since he arrived in Beantown in 2003 via the Minnesota Twins. Ortiz took his newfound opportunity to compete for a contender and ratcheted up his own competitive juices and seemingly those of every other Boston player as well. In his first season with the Red Sox, playing in 127 games, Ortiz batted .288 with 31 home runs and 101 RBI. His stats only got better from there. In fact, in 2016 – his final season in the major leagues – the 40-year-old DH defied the odds and batted an astounding .315 with 38 home runs, 48 doubles and 127 runs batted in. Despite rarely playing in the field, Ortiz still managed to finish sixth in the balloting for the American League MVP Award in his final go-round.
This lot features Ortiz’s game worn, autographed and inscribed Boston Red Sox road jersey from his final campaign. In fact, this jersey was worn by the slugger on Sept. 16, 2016, against the Baltimore Orioles, a game in which Ortiz went 1-for-3 with two walks, a single and one RBI (No. 122 on the season). His efforts helped the BoSox nail down a 5-3 victory over the O’s that night at Camden Yards. The offered gray polyester size 50 jersey reads “BOSTON” across the chest in arched red on navy blue tackle twill and includes proper “Majestic Authentic Collection” manufacturer’s tagging on the left front tail. A separate washing instructions tag appears on the inside left inseam. The Red Sox ageless embroidered team logo appears on the left sleeve. The back of the jersey reads “ORTIZ” across the shoulders in red on navy blue tackle twill with his uniform number “34” situated just below it in similar tackle twill fashion with the numerals stretching seven inches tall. Ortiz has signed the number “4” in silver marker and added his stat line for the day: “1-3.” On the adjoining number “3” it is inscribed with the following text, also in silver marker: “GAME USED 9/22/16 FINAL SEASON.” Along the lower inside placket of the jersey rests the official MLB Majestic Authentic Collection game-used bar code (#BQR3). The official red, white and blue MLB logo appears on the outside rear collar. All six original buttons remain intact.
Includes MLB Authentication hologram (#JB848201) and Fanatics Authentic hologram (#AA0004962) certifying it’s game use. LOA from Resolution Photomatching with conclusive side-by-side photo-match.
Autograph pre-certified by PSA/DNA.