Alex Rodriguez and David Ortiz might have been rivals on the field, but the former New York Yankees star sent his thoughts and prayers to the Boston Red Sox legend after he was reportedly shot in the Dominican Republic.
“Anxiously waiting for more news. In the meantime, only prayers for [Ortiz], Tiffany and their family,” Rodriguez wrote on Twitter, along with the ESPN tweet on the shooting.
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Ortiz’s father, Leo Ortiz, told ESPN his son was shot and wounded at an entertainment center in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic Sunday.
“They called to tell me that David is injured and that they took him to a medical center, but they did not tell me how he is or exactly where he was transferred,” Leo Ortiz told ESPN. “At the moment, everything is confusing. I’m trying to find out where they took my son.”
A person at the scene told ESPN that Ortiz was wounded by a man when he was in the Dial club in the eastern part of the Dominican Republic’s capital city. Ortiz, 43, was then taken to Corazones Unidos clinic in the city center.
Local broadcasters in the Dominican Republic first reported Ortiz was shot in the leg. However, local sports reporter Dionisio Soldevila reported he was shot between the left side of his lower back and the bullet came though his abdomen.
Soldevila also reported that Ortiz told the emergency room doctor, “Please don’t let me die, I’m a good man.”
In a follow-up tweet, Soldevila reported that Ortiz is “stable,” citing the chief of police.
Later, Dominican Republic broadcaster CDN37 tweeted a picture identified as one of the doctors who took care of Ortiz. They said they told the baseball legend he is “out of danger.”
.@CDN37 – A local network in the DR – Tweeted this picture who they identified as one of the doctors that took care of David Ortiz; they say he just informed them that he is out of danger. https://t.co/XWuaku7sfS
— Marly Rivera (@MarlyRiveraESPN) June 10, 2019
Ortiz is a legend in Boston for helping the Red Sox win their first World Series in 86 years in 2004. He was also an invaluable part of the 2007 and 2013 teams that won world championships. He was named the 2013 World Series MVP and spent 14 of his 20 seasons with the Red Sox.
The Santo Domingo-born designated hitter began his career with the Minnesota Twins in 1997 and retired with the Red Sox in 2016. He made 10 All-Star teams, won seven Silver Sligger Awards and the Roberto Clemente Award in 2011. The Red Sox quickly retired his number 34 in 2017.
Ortiz and his wife, Tiffany, have three children.
Photo credit: Jerritt Clark/Getty Images
