David Ortiz returned to Boston, where he will continue to receive medical attention, a day after the former Red Sox striker was ambushed by a man who shot him in a bar.
An ambulance plane carrying the 43-year-old retired athlete landed in Boston from the Dominican Republic, Ortiz’s native country, where the attack occurred, the Red Sox reported.
Ortiz was stable in the intensive care unit of a clinic in Santo Domingo, where doctors removed his gallbladder and part of his intestines, said Leo López, a spokesman for the expelotero.
Lopez said the slugger’s liver was also injured in Sunday night’s attack.
A strong home runner with a buying smile, Ortiz, 43, is idolized in the Dominican Republic and in Boston, where he guided the Red Sox to three World Series titles. He was selected to the All-Star Game 10 times and had 541 home runs.
Dozens of fans went to the hospital in the Dominican capital where Ortiz was admitted in the morning, and the police had to disperse them because they stopped traffic.
Thousands in the United States prayed for him to get better and sent him good wishes.
New England Patriots star receiver Julian Edelman joined a host of athletes in solidarity with Ortiz through social media.
“Daddy, all of New England is with you,” Edelman wrote on Instagram.
The Red Sox offered Ortiz “every available resource” and sent the aircraft to fly him to Boston.
“He’s on the Mount Rushmore of Boston sports,” said Eddie Romero, the team’s deputy general manager.
The Red Sox asked fans to observe a minute’s silence prior to their duel against the Texas Rangers at Fenway Park and displayed the phrase: “We send our love to David Ortiz.”
National Police Director Ney Aldrin Bautista Almonte said Ortiz was at the Dial Bar and Lounge in Santo Domingo at 8:50 p.m. when an individual approached him from behind and shot him at point-blank range. He was taken to the Abel González clinic, where he underwent surgery.
The assailant was not immediately identified or detained and the motive for the attack remained under investigation, with authorities trying to determine if Ortiz was the target.
The individual who was driving a motorcycle transporting the attacker was captured by the people in the bar, who beat him, and police were waiting for him to recover from his injuries to question him, authorities said.
Eliezer Salvador, who was at the bar, said the gunman said nothing, just walked over and fired a shot.
Salvador was the one who took Ortiz to the hospital and told the press that he had a brief conversation with the player in the car and that he urged him to stay calm and breathe.
“Are you having a problem with someone?” He asked Ortiz. “No, my brother, I never hurt anyone,” the ex-baseball player replied.
Salvador showed Ortiz’s belongings to reporters, along with some of his jewelry. He also apologized for hitting several cars in an attempt to get to the hospital quickly.
“It was justified,” he said.
Ortiz’s father, Leo, told reporters outside the hospital that he did not know why someone would want to harm his son.
“He is resting,” he said. “‘Big Papi’ will be with us for a long time,” he said.
Leo Ortiz said he was pleased with the medical attention his son had received. However, he explained that he would be moving to Boston so that he could be with his wife and the Red Sox medical team.
Two other people were injured, including Jhoel López, a Dominican television personality who was with Ortiz. Bautista said Lopez is believed to have been wounded by the same bullet that hit the former player.
López suffered a leg injury. He was in no danger, according to his wife Liza Blanco, another television personality.
Police did not identify the third person or give details of his injuries.
The Dial Bar and Lounge is located on Avenida Venezuela, in the east of Santo Domingo. It’s a neighborhood packed with expensive clubs and bars that Ortiz is known to frequent. The former player, who spends at least part of the year in the Dominican Republic, is often seen taking their cars to wash and hanging out with friends like other ex-players, artists and people from the entertainment world.
Ortiz spent 20 major league seasons, including 14 with the Red Sox. He retired after the 2016 season.
Two years ago, a Boston bridge was named after him, as was a street around Fenway Park, which is now called “David Ortiz Drive.” The team retired in 2017 the number 34 worn by the player, who continues to reside in Boston.
In 2013 he was named the Most Valuable Player of the World Series.
Ortiz’s fame in Boston increased after an attack during the 2016 marathon in which three people died, when he said through a megaphone “this is our (bad word) city!”
“In 2013, when we needed David Ortiz the most, he was there for us,” club president and CEO Sam Kennedy recalled Monday. “We are now focused on his health and getting him back here for treatment.” AP
___