David Ortiz is returning to Fox as an analyst for studio coverage during MLB playoff games, it was reported this week.
The former Boston Red Sox designated hitter suffered a life-threatening gunshot wound in his native Dominican Republic on June 9. He will return to his role as an analyst during Fox’s pre-game and post-game playoff coverage on the network’s properties. Ortiz is one of the best men for the job, as he has appeared in countless playoff series and won three World Series with the Red Sox during his illustrious career.
It was a difficult recovery for Ortiz, as he was flown in by the Red Sox organization from the Dominican Republic to Boston. He received care at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, where he underwent three operations. He made his first public appearance three months after the shooting by throwing out the first pitch of a Red Sox home game at Fenway Park on September 9.
The city of Boston and the organization loves “Big Papi” and did their part to ensure his safety after such an ordeal. Despite the shooting, Ortiz isn’t changing his welcoming ways and is still being a little more cautious. He talked about the incident with Sporting News.
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“I like to embrace people, make them feel comfortable around me,” said Ortiz. “I was always very accessible, but I think I’m going to cut down on that a little now. One lesson I’ve learned is that you can’t be naive.”
“There are a lot of things going on now that you have to be aware of. I need to pay attention and be more careful,” he added.
On Tuesday, Ortiz teased his return by tweeting a picture of him on set with host Kevin Burkhardt and co-commentators Alex Rodriguezand Frank Thomas. Ortiz simply captioned the photo,”Soon.”
