Boston going all-out for Ortiz
Carlsbad’s Rogers signs with Marlins for $3.4 million
BOSTON — Ted Williams waited 24 years after his last at-bat before the Boston Red Sox hung his No. 9 from the Fenway Park facade. Bobby Doerr and Joe Cronin waited 37 years, and Carlton Fisk and Jim Rice 20.
David Ortiz’s No. 34 will join the others Friday night — 265 days after he walked off the Fenway field for the last time as a player.
“That short amount of time is a symbol,” team president Sam Kennedy said Thursday, “of how everyone … feels about the player who was the most important player in the history of the Red Sox.”
The Red Sox will retire Ortiz’s number tonight before their game against the Los Angeles Angels. It will be the 11th number on the facade, and the third in three seasons.
And, yes, it will be less than a year after the player beloved as “Big Papi” walked off the field for the final time.
Ortiz’s farewell last year was a season-long affair in which he was showered with gifts on the road and celebrated for an entire weekend at Fenway. Among the honors was the announcement of a quick turnaround before he would be back for a number retirement ceremony this summer.
Things got started a day early, with Mayor Marty Walsh stopping by the Fenway on Thursday afternoon to help rename the street from the ballpark to the nearest train station “David Ortiz Drive.”
Taking the podium in front of a crowd of high school ballplayers, with Red Sox employees hanging out the windows and watching from the Fenway roof across the street, Ortiz said, “This city means a lot to me. This city got me to where I am.”
A giant No. 34 also will line the way, joining numbers for those previously retired by the team (and the No. 42 retired by all of baseball for Jackie Robinson).
Ortiz retired at the age of 40 with one of the best seasons of his career, hitting .315 with 38 homers and a league-leading 127 RBIs. In his career with the Red Sox and the Minnesota Twins, he finished with a 286 average, 541 homers, and 1,768 RBIs.
His late-inning heroics helped the Red Sox rally from a 3-0 deficit in the 2004 ALCS and win their first World Series in 86 years. He then added two more titles — the only player on all three Boston championship teams this millennium.
But most importantly, he is also remembered for rallying the city after the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, when he grabbed a microphone on the Fenway mound and declared, “This is our (expletive) city.”
MARLINS: The Associated Press and other media outlets report first-round draft pick Trevor Rogers from Carlsbad High has agreed to a contract that includes a $3.4 million signing bonus, pending a physical.
The person confirmed the agreement to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Tuesday because the deal won’t be final until the 19-year-old left-hander undergoes a physical.
The 6-foot-6 lefty pitcher Rogers, 19, was drafted out of high school with the 13th overall pick last week.
Derek Jeter told Major League Baseball on Thursday he doesn’t yet have the necessary money to buy the Marlins and is still seeking help from other investors, a person familiar with the negotiations said.
Jeter’s group bid about $1.3 billion to buy the Marlins from Jeffrey Loria. A similar bid was submitted by a group led by Massachusetts businessman Tagg Romney, son of former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney.
Jeter continued his pursuit of the franchise after former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush dropped out of his group. The commissioner’s office wants the purchasing group to demonstrate it has enough cash both to close the deal and operate the team.
RAIN, RAIN: The Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins endured a 4-hour, 50-minute rain delay before starting their game in Minneapolis on Thursday.
The Twins announced it was the longest delay in the team’s 57-year history in Minnesota. They played 28 seasons under a roof at the Metrodome. This is their eighth year at Target Field.
The White Sox once endured a 7½-hour rain delay before their game in Chicago on Aug. 12, 1990, against Texas was called.
ANGELS: Los Angeles activated reliever Huston Street, who has been recovering from a strained latissimus dorsi muscle in his back that had sidelined him since spring training.
ATHLETICS: Oakland designated catcher Stephen Vogt for assignment and placed infielder Matt Chapman (knee infection) on the 10-day disabled list.
ASTROS: Houston outfielder George Springer suffered a left hand contusion after being struck by a 92-mph fastball from Jesse Hahn leading off Thursday against the Oakland Athletics. Springer’s status is day-to-day.