BOSTON -- Today, tomorrow, for years and decades to come, the debate will rage over the greatest Boston Red Sox player ever. One generation will argue for Ted Williams, another will offer a compelling case for Carl Yastrzemski or Jim Rice or Pedro Martinez.Its indisputable, though, that David Ortiz is the most prolific winner in the franchises 115-year history.And so, on the occasion of Ortizs final regular-season game, the Red Sox showered their iconic designated hitter with gifts, brought back 24 of his former teammates from the 2004, 2007 and 2013 World Series-winning teams and announced they will retire his No. 34 early next season, making him the first player to have his uniform number taken out of circulation by the Red Sox before he is elected to the Hall of Fame.Ortiz was feted in an emotional 40-minute pregame ceremony at Fenway Park that included Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and even Dominican Republic President Danilo Medina and concluded with Big Papi going down on one knee and doffing his cap to salute the fans.Before the festivities, Red Sox manager John Farrell said, there may be no more important player ever in this organization, and Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred called Ortiz transformational, noting that he changed the course of this franchise and changed the city, a reference to the sluggers impassioned and expletive-laced speech in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013.We have great memories and theres still great memories to be made in the next few weeks, but hes a legend and hes going to be missed by all of us, Walsh said. What hes done off the field is almost as big as the accomplishments on the field. What hes done with his foundation and really lifting the city up following the Marathon bombing, everyone climbed on his back and he just got the city back on track.As much as anything -- including his 540 career home runs -- that will be Ortizs legacy in Boston. He represents the only common denominator between the 2004, 2007 and 2013 World Series champions, but more than that, he came to symbolize the city since his arrival in 2003.Ortiz was given a haul of gifts that included the creation of a fellowship program to promote diversity in front offices across MLB. Baker presented him with a sign for the David Ortiz Bridge, a renamed span of Brkline Avenue that crosses over the Massachusetts Turnpike, while Walsh gave him a street sign for David Ortiz Drive, a newly named section of road near Fenway Park.Later, a parade of former teammates, including Manny Ramirez, poured onto the field, with Martinez, Mike Lowell and Jonny Gomes holding the 2004, 2007 and 2013 World Series trophies, respectively.We had a lot of, I would say, elite players, and I think David is one of the catalysts to that, Lowell said. The fact that he is someone from another country that endeared himself to learning English and being able to express himself, I think he was able to really bridge a gap. He already had that relationship with the Latin players, but I think it really extended to guys from everywhere. When youre that gd and you still make other people feel important, I think thats a pretty special quality.And it wasnt only with his fellow teammates. The Red Sox Foundation and team ownership pledged to donate a total of $1 million to the David Ortiz Childrens Fund, a charity that has provided life-saving surgeries for more than 500 children in New England and the Dominican Republic.He can have a conversation with the CEO of a Fortune 500 company or a transplant recipient whos 8 years old and feel like everybody is engaged and be on the same level with everyone in between -- all the while in a second language, Farrell said. Hes truly a remarkable person.Manfred addressed the complex part of Ortizs legacy.In 2009, Ortizs name was leaked to The New York Times as one of the players who tested positive for PEDs in 2003 survey testing, which led to MLBs current drug-testing policy. Manfred noted there were several results that were scientifically indisputable at the time, but could not say whether Ortiz was among them because MLB agreed to keep results confidential and the results were subsequently destroyed.I do know that hes never been a positive at any point under our program [implemented in 2004], said Manfred, who indicated he will meet with Ortiz in the Dominican Republic this winter to discuss a potential role as an ambassador for the league. I think that the feeling was, at the time that name was leaked, that it was important to make people understand that even if your name was on that list that it was entirely possible that you were not a positive.But this was a day to celebrate Ortiz, who completed one of the best farewell seasons in baseball history and will now have one last postseason with the Red Sox to add a fourth title to his résumé.?With no disrespect to the greats who have worn this uniform, I think what weve seen over the past 14-15 years, the way this franchise has elevated itself, there may be no more important player ever in this organization, Farrell said. Just the visibility, the magnitude, in combination with the winning, David Ortiz is right in the hub of that.kiestore.com/Browns-Austin-Seibert-Jersey/" target="_blank">Austin Seibert Browns Jersey . Radwanska, making her debut in the Seoul tournament, hit eight aces in a match that lasted 1 hour, 4 minutes at Olympic Park tennis stadium. 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Darren Helm scored on Detroits sixth attempt in the shtout and then Jonas Gustavsson stopped Andrew Shaws shot, lifting the Detroit Red Wings to a 5-4 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night.Friday night, I tk my Dad to the World Series at Wrigley Field.Whatever happens in the rest of the games this October, that fact will be the most important thing about 2016 for me.People told me it was great that I was bringing my Dad to the Series. This confused me: Was it even a question? Who else would I bring? I am a Cubs fan because of him, and my uncle Jimmy Schneider and games on WGN after schl in the spring and fall.It was both filial duty and karmic payback.We arrived 90 minutes before the first pitch and breezed through security. The Cubs had wisely opened the gates earlier than usual, which dissipated the crowd I had feared. But the early-entry folks created outrageously long lines in the souvenir stores, so we skipped them and headed up straight up to Section 416. Taking the elevator and walking past the sections cordoned off as an auxiliary press box down the left field line was surreal.The World Series. At Wrigley Field. With my Dad.My dad, Bill Savage Sr., went to his first Cubs game as an 8-year-old in 1948, and as he always tells me, Theyve been breaking my heart ever since.Well, the Cubs bats broke a lot of hearts Friday night, but their 1-0 loss to Cleveland is baseball. Its still a seven-game series, and we were down 2 games to 1 to the Dodgers just last week.But in some ways, the game itself wasnt my focus, just like Jorge Soler didnt focus on getting out of the batters box on his triple in the seventh inning.In the other pair of seats sat my best friend, Rich, and his mother.The World Series. At Wrigley Field. With my best friend.I cannot honestly say the loss didnt hurt, but it was still the World Series. At Wrigley Field. With my dad and my best friend.Rich and I have been going to Wrigley since before we had season tickets, back in the early 80s. When bleacher seats still went on sale day-of-game only,, before lights, much less gourmet hot dogs, craft beer, or video boards.dddddddddddd.Weve seen some other Cubs postseason history together. The 1998 163rd game, where we beat the Giants to make the playoffs as the wild card. The seventh game of the 2003 NLCS, where Josh Beckett schled Kerry Wd and sent Cubs fans home brokenhearted yet again. And the 2015 NLDS clincher versus the Cardinals, when Kyle Schwarber put that homer on top of the right field video board, when hopes for Theo Epsteins plan to make the team a perennial contender began to seem realistic.On the El ride home, my dad and I chatted with a couple of other fans, and one of them asked how long Id had season tickets. Since 1991, I replied. My friends Rich, Old Style, and I bought them when we won our baseball fantasy league thanks to Ryne Sandberg hitting 40 homers in 1990. You?This is our first year, he said.Nice timing, my father replied. And we all laughed.It was half past midnight by the time we got back to Rogers Park. The train, once we got on it, was plenty fast, but it had taken us an hour to go 150 feet from Gate D at Wrigley to the Addison CTA station. When the Cubs win, much of the crowd stays to sing along with Steve Gdmans Go Cubs Go and the Blues Brothers cover of Sweet Home Chicago. When they lose, everyone heads for the exits at once.Next time, Ill know better and walk to a different station.But of course, there will never be a next time. Not that I might not ever get tickets to another Cubs World Series game, or that the Cubs might not return to the Fall Classic in 2017 or beyond.But I will never again go to the first World Series game at Wrigley Field after 71 years without a pennant.With my Dad and my best friend. ' ' '