Then on Thursday evening, Ortiz was celebrated -- and tweaked -- at The Roast of David Ortiz, a charitable celebration of the big man's career and outsized personality. Now the capper is on deck, with the number retirement ceremony set for Fenway Park tonight.
Ortiz's number will take its place alongside 1 (Bobby Doerr), 4 (Joe Cronin), 6 (Johnny Pesky), 8 (Carl Yastrzemski), 9 (Ted Williams), 14 (Jim Rice), 26 (Wade Boggs), 27 (Carlton Fisk) and 45 (Pedro Martinez), as well as Jackie Robinson's 42, which is retired throughout baseball.