Big Papi throws out first pitch at Fenway

Former Red Sox slugger David Ortiz had a chance to thank his adoring fans at Fenway Park exactly three months after he was shot in the back while in his native Dominican Republic.

Ortiz, 43, threw out the first pitch before the Yankees-Red Sox game, his first public appearance since being seriously injured in a Santo Domingo nightclub.

“I want to thank all of you for all the prayers,” he told fans after throwing the pitch to former teammate Jason Varitek. “I really appreciate it. Thank you very much. I want to thank my former teammates for being there for me … A lot of them came home to check up on my boy.”

Wearing a white No. 34 home jersey with black slacks, he entered the field to a rousing ovation. When the game started, he took a seat in the first row, right next to Boston’s dugout, giving his jersey to a young boy seated a few rows back in the first inning.

A10-time all-star, Ortiz helped the Red Sox end their 86-year championship drought in 2004 and batted .688 against the St. Louis Cardinals in 2013 to win the Series MVP award. CATCHING CONTROVERSY: Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen has denied a rift exists between pitcher Noah Syndergaard and the team over Wilson Ramos catching his starts.

A report in the New York Post on Monday said Syndergaard or his agents implored the Mets numerous times to let the righthander pitch to another catcher.

“I think Noah has expressed his feelings with his (lack of ) comfortability of throwing to Wilson,” Van Wagenen said before Monday’s game against Arizona. “I respect him for sharing those feelings.

“We listened to him, he understands our thought process that he may have other catchers catch him. No different than he has earlier in the course of the season and we’ll continue to make those evaluations on a day by day basis.”

Syndergaard has a 5.09 ERA in 15 games pitching to Ramos and a 2.45 ERA in 10 games pitching to Tomas Nido. The Mets, though, are 9-6 when Ramos has caught Syndergaard

“You can’t make everybody happy and it’s not about making guys happy,” manager Mickey Callaway said. “It’s about winning at this point.”