David Ortiz, Retired Red Sox Slugger, Is Shot in Dominican Republic

David Ortiz, the retired baseball player who became one of the game’s most respected athletes while playing a key role in Boston ending its 86-year World Series drought, was shot in the Dominican Republic on Sunday, according to the country’s national police.

Ortiz, 43, was shot once in the back at a club in East Santo Domingo, the police said. He was in stable condition at a hospital on Sunday night.

It was not immediately clear what led to the shooting.

Ortiz, who played 20 years in the major leagues before retiring in 2016, spent 14 seasons in Boston, where he established himself as one of the city’s most successful and beloved athletes. He finished with 541 career home runs, placing 17th of all time.

Commonly known by his nickname, Big Papi, Ortiz has raised millions of dollars through his foundation to help children’s medical needs in New England and the Dominican Republic, where he was born. He will be eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2021.

Ortiz once said he wanted to be remembered as a nice guy more than he wanted to be remembered as a ballplayer.

“When you respect people and show people love, I think you’re never going to forget about that,” Ortiz said in 2016. “I feel like I have been that way with everybody, and that’s better than just thinking about the guy that used to hit home runs. Because I see a lot of players, they get to be extremely good when they play, but their personality doesn’t come along, and when they’re done, you never see anyone talk about them.”

He may be best known for his role in helping the Red Sox end their 86-year World Series curse in 2004. That year, he buried the rival Yankees in the American League Championship Series with a home run to end Game 4, a single to win Game 5 and another home run in Game 7.

Even the Yankees honored Ortiz with a painting and a ceremony in 2016 during his last game in Yankee Stadium. Despite all of the pain he inflicted on them, Yankees fans sent him off with a standing ovation.

“He’s one of the friendliest guys in the game,” Brian McCann, the Yankees catcher at the time, said after the game. “And he’s had a Hall of Fame career.”