Yankees to honor David Ortiz with pregame ceremony Sept. 29

The Yankees announced today that they will honor Boston Red Sox DH David Ortiz with a pregame ceremony prior to his final game in the Bronx on Sept. 29. Ortiz, 40, is retiring after this season, much to the delight of Yankee fans who have watched him play a pivotal role in the Yankee-Red Sox rivalry over the last 13 years. The decision to honor him will not sit well with many of those fans, but Ortiz has had a warm farewell tour around the league this season. In his 20-year career that started with the Minnesota Twins, Ortiz owns a .286/.379/.551 line with 536 home runs and 1,752 RBI in 2,391 games - mostly at DH. He's one of most clutch hitters of all-time, evidenced by his .295/.409/.553 line with 17 homers and 60 RBI in 82 postseason games. Ortiz makes an interesting case to be the first ever DH to be elected into the Hall of Fame. However, a PED controversy which surfaced in 2009 that stemmed from a failed test in 2003 has hung over Ortiz's career for the last seven years. Against the Yankees in his career, Ortiz has hit .305/.396/.569 with 52 homers and 166 RBI in 236 games. It will be interesting to see how the Stadium crowd responds to the ceremony on September 29. https://twitter.com/DPLennon/status/776486527253749760