BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio/AP) — Three months after he was shot in the back in a Santo Domingo nightclub, former Red Sox slugger David Ortiz returned to Fenway Park.
In his first public appearance since June 9, Ortiz threw out the first pitch before the Red Sox played the New York Yankees.
"I want to thank all of you for all the prayers," Ortiz said from the mound. "I really appreciate it. Thank you very much. I want to thank my former teammates for being there for me. So, a lot of them came home to check up on my boy. Also, I want to thank the Yankees, a lot of my boys over there and checked up on Big Papi. Thank you very much, appreciate it. CC (Sabathia), (Edwin) Encarnación. Thank you very much. God bless you all. Go Sox."
Wearing a white No. 34 home jersey with black slacks, he entered the field to a rousing ovation. When the game started, he took a seat in the first row, right next to Boston's dugout, giving his jersey to a young boy seated a few rows back in the first inning.
Police say Ortiz was shot in the back by a hired gunman who drove up on a motorcycle and fired at close range, hitting him in the torso. He was not the intended target.
Doctors in Santo Domingo removed Ortiz's gallbladder and part of his intestine, and he was flown the next day on a Red Sox plane to Boston, where he had more surgery.
Despite the excitement of Ortiz's return, the Sox fell to the Yankees 5-0.
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WBZ NewsRadio's Adam Kaufman (@AdamMKaufman) reports
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