David Ortiz. AFP
Santo Domingo, DR
On Wednesday, a Dominican Republic court ordered the reopening of a case against former Major League Baseball player David “Big Papi” Ortiz for an accusation of gender violence, according to judicial sources, one day after he was elected as a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Ortiz, the former Minnesota Twins and Boston Red Sox slugger, had been investigated on two previous occasions due to a complaint filed by his ex-girlfriend Fary Almánzar, mother of one of the former baseball player’s children, for alleged gender violence.
However, the Prosecutor’s Office closed the case on both occasions after determining that the facts denounced by the complainant could not be proven with evidence, according to press reports.
“The judge said that the Gender Violence Unit (of the Prosecutor’s Office) did not do the investigation it was supposed to do,” states a press release from Almánzar’s lawyers.
“Ortiz did not appear at the hearing. Nor was his presence necessary due to the fact that the content of a decision issued by the Prosecutor’s Office was to be discussed,” the document adds.
According to Almánzar’s lawyers, the Prosecutor’s Office has 20 days to conclude the investigation.
“Big Papi” became the fourth Dominican baseball player to enter the Cooperstown Hall of Fame after reaching 77.9% of the votes in his first year on the ballot.
After a 20-year career and three World Series wins with the Red Sox, Ortiz retired from baseball at the end of the 2016 season with a lifetime average of .286, 631 doubles, 541 homers, 1,758 RBIs, and 1,419 runs scored, along with .620 slugging and an OPS of 1.021.