To retire like David Ortiz

 

David Ortiz is having a record breaking final year playing for the Red Sox. Having announced his intention to retire at the end of this baseball season, every time he steps to the plate is an opportunity to set another mark for a player his age or for one in his retirement year.
With more than 100 RBIs; closing in 40 home runs and leading the league in a couple of offensive categories, he doesn’t seem like someone who should be retiring, even at age 40.

While he has given every indication that this is his final season, there are many who can't seem to accept it. You would think from their reaction that if not playing baseball, Ortiz is surely destined for rocking chair on the porch of a retirement home.

Just recently Red Sox President Sam Kennedy was asked on Sports Radio if he and team ownership had sat down with Ortiz and had “the talk.”

Kennedy was adamant that the Club is respecting Ortiz's wishes and gave no indication that Big Papi has ever suggested that he was thinking about changing his mind. In fact, Ortiz has said on several occasions that he wishes he hadn’t announced his retirement before the season began, because of all the additional obligations and expectations that have followed him as he makes his last appearances in ballparks around the country.

But the questions continue.

While I’m certainly older than Ortiz but nowhere near as financially secure, I can appreciate why he’s decided to call it a career.

- It’s a young man’s game. With one of the younger teams in baseball, Ortiz is clearly the old man amongst the kids. While it’s energizing to be around younger people in the workplace and elsewhere, I know from my own experience it can be challenging, as well.

- There’s too many miles on his tires. When he approaches the plate, Ortiz is often described as “walking on pillows” because of the physical issues he has with his feet. While he has never been the fastest player on the team, it’s pretty obvious when he’s out by a country mile attempting to stretch a single into a double that he has lost a step or two from his already glacier like pace.

- It’s too much work. The training; the roads trips; the time that it takes to get ready for a game. While baseball players are some of the most pampered athletes in the world, the grind over 162 games and more than six months has got to take its toll after all these years.  

- There are other things to do. I haven’t read or heard anything directly from Ortiz that indicates what he plans to do when his playing days conclude. But as one of the most beloved players in the game and blessed with enough money to be sure that his great, great, great grandkids will be financially secure, he can continue his philanthropic work, become an international ambassador for the game or even a team owner.

- It’s a chance to go out on top. This one I identify with the most. It’s a lock that the Sox will win the division and have as good a chance as any team to make it to the World Series. Given his ability to shine in the spotlight, Ortiz will most likely thrive in the playoffs and leave center stage with fans remembering his contributions, not his failings.

Far too often athletes– pick your sport – spend their last few years hanging on. If you have the cache of a Jeter, Ripken or Yazstremski you stay in the line up where fans can see on a daily basis how your skills have slipped.

Personally, I’m hoping to be more like Ortiz than Yaz and accept when its time to leave the game to the kids, even if I'm still at the top of mine.  There are other things I want to accomplish, too.