David Ortiz OKs idea that could have him hit homers with MLB bat again (report)

David Ortiz may not have hit his last home run in a competitive environment at an MLB ballpark just yet.

According to The Athletic, the famed Boston Red Sox slugger has signed on to the idea of a “Legends Home Run Derby” that would see some of the game’s most famous (retired) names step up to the plate once again and hit some dingers.

Ortiz is one of four famous names signed on to the idea along with Ken Griffey Jr., Jim Thome and Albert Pujols, The Athletic reports.

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The idea first emerged during last week’s All-Star break when Griffey made a visit to the MLB Network set, where Pujols was working, and had this jovial exchange:

Pujols: “So are we gonna see you in the Home Run Derby tonight, or what?”

Griffey: “What?”

Pujols: “Take a couple swings. Why not?”

Griffey: “If you do it, I’ll do it.”

Pujols: “Alright. Let’s do it. Why not?”

The exchange led to the MLB Network set breaking out in laughter before moving on to another topic. However, it seems that idea wasn’t laughed off for long. The Athletic reports that, shortly after the exchange on TV, former players started connecting through MLB Network’s Greg Amsinger to talk about this idea for real.

Per The Athletic, Thome was watching at home and texted that he’d join. The next day, Pujols reportedly wrote that he’d do it in “a hot second” before relaying that Ortiz had told him that the Red Sox legend is “in all the way.”

Amsinger told The Athletic that the Legends Home Round Derby would take place around the MLB Futures Game, providing a glimpse at the past and future of baseball. Amsinger added that this new idea would use the old “nine-inning game” concept for the Home Run Derby where every non-home run was an out. The Legends Derby would use multiple players on a team to try and avoid injury -- and have a backup plan if one occurred.

Griffey had evidence to back up his claim that he could still go deep if he had time to prepare. Talking on the MLB Network set, the Hall of Famer told a story about how players at the 2023 World Baseball Classic had pestered him into taking batting practice swings. Eventually, Griffey called his wife and had her drive his bat down. He says it took him nine swings to go deep.

Would this idea actually work? Maybe. It would come with some risk of players pulling a hamstring or not looking great out there. But the comments made by Griffey on the MLB Network set show that former players still have plenty of competitive fire on the baseball field -- even if they can’t catch up to a 100 MPH fastball anymore. It would certainly help if legends were given time to prepare themselves and get in shape for the event.

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There hasn’t been any traction yet at an MLB level for this event to happen. But if Major League Baseball can get Ortiz to take swings as part of a Celebrity Softball Game, the idea of a Legends Home Run Derby might not be too crazy.