Red Sox honor 'adopted son' David Ortiz in pregame moment of silence
A day after Boston Red Sox icon David Ortiz was shot in his native Dominican Republic, the team had a home game at Fenway Park against the Texas Rangers.
Prior to the first pitch, the Red Sox held a moment of silence for Ortiz, who is reportedly in stable condition and will return to Boston for further treatment on a plane provided by the team when he’s able to fly.
The @RedSox hold a moment of reflection for Big Papi. ❤ pic.twitter.com/hjqZDkdB8f
— MLB (@MLB) June 10, 2019
“As befits his outsized personality, wishes for a speedy recovery have poured in from all over baseball, from the world of sports and even from respected world leaders,” the Red Sox public address announcer said. “He is loved throughout our nation and beyond. Yet to us, he is our own adopted son.”
Ortiz suffered organ damage
Ortiz’s media assistant Leo Lopez told ESPN early Monday that doctors removed Ortiz’s gallbladder, part of his intestines and his colon.
Ortiz was slated to be held in intensive care for 24 hours after the procedure that ended early Monday. His father Leo Ortiz told ESPN that his son was “out of danger.”
“Doctors say that David is out of danger, thank God," Leo Ortiz said. "What they have told me post-op is that the doctors believe he will recover quickly. Big Papi will be around for a long time.”
Bystanders attacked, injured alleged shooter
Dominican police said that 25-year-old Eddy Feliz Garcia got off a motorcycle and shot Ortiz in the back while Ortiz was at the Dial Bar and Lounge in Santo Domingo Sunday evening. The bullet exited Ortiz’s stomach.
The shooting prompted Ortiz to reportedly plead with the emergency room doctor “Please don’t let me die, I’m a good man.”
Bystanders reportedly attacked the shooter and beat him badly, leaving him with a cranial contusion, thorax trauma and injuries to his left knee and right leg, according to the Dominican Republic’s National Health Service.
Officials are investigating the motive for the shooting.
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