BALTIMORE — David Ortiz is determined to be great until his very last swing.
It wasn’t enough that he predicted another 30-homer, 100-RBI season in the offseason when he announced his retirement. He then became the best 40-year-old player there ever was. Now he’s going to produce clutch hits until they take the bat out of his hands.
Ortiz continued his dramatic farewell tour with a three-run homer in the seventh inning Tuesday night to extend the Sox’ lead in a 5-2 win over the Orioles. Ortiz has hit 36 homers and has knocked in 121 runs. In the 151st game of his final season, there’s not even a hint that he will end his career with a whimper.
Before the game, Ortiz participated in his final Camden Yards news conference, during which he spoke on a variety of subjects, including playing in pain, the Hall of Fame, and next season.
Over and over he is asked, “Why retire now?’’
“I wish I could continue playing, but it takes a lot for me to prepare for the games every year,’’ Ortiz said. “I’ve been dealing with things the last four years and it gets worse, you know what I’m saying? And so I have to put a lot of effort and a lot of work to play at my highest level out there. At some point, it wears you out.’’
Ortiz looked anything but worn out in the seventh, when he came up with two men on, one out, and the Red Sox holding a one-run lead.
“Experience played out in that at-bat,’’ said Ortiz about the home run. “I had to shoot for something. I told myself I got to shoot for either fastball or splitter, but I know [Orioles starter Kevin Gausman is] going to throw his best fastball right now, so I guessed fastball. Sometimes we get in trouble when we have doubt, but when you have experience . . . you’re not going to be right every time, but . . . ’’
Ortiz said before the game that it was frustrating to think that though he could hit for many more years, his legs won’t allow it to happen.
“I don’t know if I can play til 50,’’ Ortiz said with a laugh. “Julio Franco, maybe. Yeah, I got a little crazy. I play in a lot of pain. I’ve been taking a lot of anti-inflammatories and stuff to get through it. We have good doctors and training staff, and they work hard with all of us, but it is what it is. Like I say, I love this game and this game is my everything, but it’s not forever.’’
In his last season, Ortiz is giving it his best shot.
“The fans deserve that,’’ Ortiz said. “The fans, man, they’re very supportive and I hope every player wishes that in their last year they put up a good season for them.
“I wanted to have a good year. I didn’t know if it was going to be this good, but I worked for it. And the ballclub we have right now, it’s amazing and it’s made things easier. Guys like [Xander] Bogaerts, Mookie [Betts], Junior [Bradley], the way Hanley [Ramirez] has played . . . every time we add someone, they do good and it makes us a winner.’’
Ortiz got into great detail is his admiration for Ramirez, Rick Porcello, and Dustin Pedroia, as well as his respect for the way the young players handle themselves.
“Unbelievable,’’ Ortiz said of Porcello’s season. “The way he’s been attacking the strike zone this year is the most impressive thing. He’s a strike-throwing machine and goes out there with a winning attitude. Very happy for him. The guy tries to get better every day. And when you work, work, work, and you don’t see results, it gets kind of frustrating.’’
He said of Pedroia, “I’m older than Pedroia and I learn by just watching him. Pedey is, I don’t know how to describe him, but Pedroia is the best thing you can have on a ballclub ever.’’
Ortiz added, “He’s played the game like nobody I’ve ever seen.’’
His buddy Ramirez has come up big this season, a year after the entire nation of Red Sox fans was against him. Ortiz acknowledges he’s had talks with Ramirez, calling him “his little brother.’’
“Big guy playing the outfield, hitting fences and running around, didn’t work out for him that well,’’ Ortiz said. “I told you in spring training I was happy about him playing first base and now you’re seeing the results.’’
Ortiz was asked what he wanted his legacy to be. The answer was pretty heartfelt.
“That’s something that it’s not up to me to say what I would like to see afterwards, but I really believe that when you treat everybody the right way, when you stay humble, when you respect people and show people love,’’ Ortiz said. “I feel like I’ve been that way with everybody and that’s better than to just think of me as someone who hits home runs. I’ve seen a lot of players. They get to be extremely good when they play, but their personality doesn’t come along, and you never see anyone talking about it.’’
On a potential Hall of Fame election, Ortiz said “When you play as long as I’ve played and do what I have done, of course it’s going to be important,’’ he said.
Asked if DHs should be considered more readily for the Hall, Ortiz said, “This game is based on numbers. It seems like pretty much most the guys in the Hall of Fame have won a lot of championships, and have personal numbers, and done a lot of special things for the game. I’m not going to kill myself thinking about it right now because I’ll have plenty of time to grab some knowledge, but we’ll see how it plays out.’’
Ortiz waxed poetic about being a major league baseball player for 20 years and how much he’s learned over the years.
“If I had the mentality and experience now 20 years ago, who knows, I might be working for NASA,’’ Ortiz quipped.
“It’s just like experience goes a long way. Sometimes you can make things look easier with experience because you already know whether it’s going to work. But you can fool yourself. You have to go step by step.
“I have experience of knowing how they’re going to approach me, what they have. But I still have to get my work in, watch my videos, get in early for treatment. If I just approach it like, ‘I know what to do,’ it doesn’t work that way.’’
A lot of things have been mentioned about what Ortiz will do after he is done playing. Work as a TV analyst has been often been mentioned. One thing he will do is return to the Red Sox as a special assistant in spring training. Dwight Evans, Dick Berardino, Tommy Harper, Jason Varitek, Pedro Martinez, Tim Wakefield, and Jim Rice all have their roles with the Red Sox.
“I’m retiring. but I’m not gonna forget about the Red Sox, I’m gonna be around,’’ Ortiz said. “I’m always going to feel for this ballclub.
“You see Jim Rice and you see Pedro. These guys always want this ballclub to do well. I’m going to face the same situation. Those guys look forward to make sure the players get better. I don’t know how many times Jim Rice or Pedro approached me and other players with something to help us get better.’’
Ortiz, who has won three World Series championships, has always stopped short of saying whether this version has a chance to go all the way.
“We’re trying to,’’ Ortiz said. “That is something that is just not about saying it . . . but we’re looking good. We’ve got pitching and we’re playing good defense. That’s a good combination this time of the year.’’
When Ortiz speaks, everyone listens. But there won’t be many more of these Big Papi pow-wows as his splendid career winds down to a precious few weeks.
Nick Cafardo can be reached at cafardo@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @nickcafardo.
