Former Salt Lake Star, MLB Legend David Ortiz Shot During Robbery In D.R.

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Former member of the Salt Lake Buzz and future baseball Hall of Famer David Ortiz was shot in the torso during a robbery while he was in the Dominican Republic.

According to reports, the shooting occurred at an amusement center in Santo Domingo on Sunday night. Ortiz was taken to a local hospital to be treated for a gunshot wound. The alleged assailant has been apprehended and is in police custody.

Further reports have indicated that Ortiz was shot on the left side of his lower back and the bullet passed through his abdomen.

Ortiz’s condition was not clear at the time of this article’s publication.

Former Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz was shot and wounded at an amusement center in the Dominican Republic, his father told ESPN’s @Enrique_Rojas1. pic.twitter.com/c5KgIWOLXq

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 10, 2019

The Dominican-born slugger played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball, most notably with the Boston Red Sox, where he won three World Series titles in 2004, 2007 and 2013 before retiring in 2016. He became a fan-favorite in Boston for his powerful home runs and involvement in the community and was affectionately known as “Big Papi.”

Prior to his Red Sox days, Ortiz was a member of the Minnesota Twins organization and spent some time in Salt Lake, whose team was affiliated with the Twins and known as the Buzz at the time. In 11 games with the Buzz in 1998, Ortiz hit .243 with two home runs and six RBIs. The next year, he played in 130 games with Salt Lake and hit .315 with 30 homers and 110 RBIs.

He was signed by Boston after being released by Minnesota in 2003 and went to have a legendary career in Beantown. By the time he retired he had won seven Silver Slugger awards, a World Series MVP and was selected as an All-Star 10 times in addition to his championship titles.

Story has been corrected to state the exact location of Ortiz’s wound. Earlier reports stated that he had been shot in the leg.