The New York state Senate honoured baseball great David Ortiz on Monday for his extraordinary career and charitable contributions.
According to the resolution approved by state senators, the legendary Boston Red Sox player, known by his nickname “Big Papi,” has long used his famous profile to raise money and awareness for a number of issues that are close to his home in New York.
Children in the Dominican Republic and New England who would not otherwise be able to pay for cardiac care services are given access to it through his nonprofit, the David Ortiz Children’s Fund. Families in New York have also profited from those programmes.
On the 20th anniversary of his Red Sox team winning the 2004 World Series, Ortiz visited the Albany statehouse. Since Babe Ruth was traded to the New York Yankees, starting one of the most well-known rivalries in professional American sports, the Red Sox have not won a World Series.
Spokesman Rusking Pimentel stated that despite being a devoted Yankees supporter, State Sen. Luis Sepúlveda, the author of the resolution, “acknowledges the great philanthropic work of Ortiz and his foundation.”
