On Wednesday Sept. 13, the University of Massachusetts Boston welcomed a very special guest to its annual Freshman Investiture Ceremony.
After having to cancel a scheduled appearance last semester, David Ortiz made an appearance at UMass Boston to give his thoughts on the importance of education and reflect on his baseball career. The Red Sox legend was, of course, met with a warm welcome from the community as students at all stages in their academic careers filled the ballroom in the Campus Center.
Before Ortiz entered the main room, he was first met with a select group of people in a separate area, including Interim Chancellor Barry Mills. Mills confessed to Ortiz his allegiance to the New York Yankees, which brought a chuckle out of the former Sox slugger.
Ortiz entered the ballroom to the sound of “Tessie” by the Dropkick Murphys and a raucous ovation from the large cluster of students. He was met on stage by one of the SAEC Program Coordinators Kelsey Hale. She had the opportunity to ask him some questions in front of the audience.
One of the questions was how important he felt education was. Ortiz started off by congratulating all the students in the room on starting their college careers and then answered the question by saying, “Education is important for what comes with it. It is something that every human being needs.”
Big Papi, as he is affectionately known in Boston, also added some words of wisdom for the students in the audience: “To get something, you gotta give something.”
Questions then turned towards baseball. Ortiz was asked about one thing he would like to change about baseball. He replied by stating that umpire reviews should be changed so that plays weren’t overturned so often. He was also asked what he misses the most about his baseball career.
“What do I miss the most?” said Ortiz, “Killing the Yankees.”
Later in the event, the floor opened up to questions from members of the audience. Everything was on the table: what was Ortiz’s favorite World Series win? He even got requests to make appearances at weddings. At one point, a young woman told a heartwarming story of her friend that was a big fan of his that lost a battle with leukemia five years prior. She wore a bracelet in her friend’s honor and offered it to Ortiz, which he graciously accepted. Now, her friend was always with their hero.
The audience then became bolder with their requests as many asked for autographs and selfies. Ortiz, ever the fan favorite, granted every single one of these requests. This ultimately lead to students forming a line at the end of the Q and A period. Eventually, Ortiz ended the session as he had a flight to Los Angeles later that evening.
Ortiz also made a few big announcements at the event. He informed the audience that he had signed on to become part of the Red Sox front office and would be coaching and mentoring young players. Ortiz also informed one young woman in the crowd, who was from Puerto Rico, that his foundation was currently raising money for all areas affected by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.
Hopefully, Ortiz will be welcomed back to UMass Boston soon. This year’s Investiture was certainly one to remember.