Big Papi becomes an American citizen

Big Papi becomes an American citizen
Slugger sworn in on Wednesday at Kennedy Library
By Ian Browne / MLB.com

BOSTON -- David Ortiz, one of the finest sluggers in the long and storied history of the Boston Red Sox, is now an American citizen.

The Dominican-born slugger -- affectionately known throughout Major League Baseball as Big Papi -- had a big day on Wednesday, sworn in along with 226 other immigrants at the John F. Kennedy Library in Dorchester, Mass.

Ortiz declined to talk about the moment multiple times when approached by beat writers in the clubhouse before Wednesday night's game against the Orioles. However, he did say a few words to news reporters outside the Kennedy Library.

"I'm proud to be an American, and it's great to part of the American family," said Ortiz, dressed in a dark sport coat and white shirt.

Why did he choose to become an American citizen?

"Well, my whole family, pretty much my kids and everybody, have been born here," he said. "Like I said, America is a great country. I'm proud to be here, and now proud to be a part of it."

Ortiz is now eligible to vote in the presidential election in November, but it's a little early to ask him who he will vote for.

"I don't know yet," he said.

Tiffany Ortiz is proud of her husband.

"It's a big deal for him," Tiffany Ortiz told The Boston Globe. "It's really important, and I'm really proud of him."

When Manny Ramirez became an American citizen in 2004, it was a highly publicized event. Manager Terry Francona gave Ramirez permission to go to Miami to be sworn in, and when Ramirez took the field the next night at Fenway, he ran out with a small American flag and a huge smile.

This time around, Francona didn't even know Ortiz had been sworn in until after the fact.

"Is that why he had a sport coat on? I didn't know," said Francona, who enjoys a close relationship with Ortiz.

And unlike the Ramirez situation -- when he openly interacted with teammates about the event in the clubhouse on the day it occurred -- Ortiz was low-key.

Ortiz's father did come into the clubhouse about an hour before the game and shook his son's hand.

Ortiz is on the disabled list with a partial tear of the tendon sheath in his left wrist.

Congratulations I guess.

Now he can pay taxes just like other Americans

Good for him! He maybe can set a good example for others.