A court in the Dominican Republic ordered this Wednesday to reopen a case against former Major League Baseball player David “Big Papi” Ortiz for an accusation of gender-based violence, according to judicial sources, a day after being elected as a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. .
Ortiz, a former batter for the Minnesota Twins and the Boston Red Sox, had been investigated on two previous occasions as a result of a complaint filed by his ex-partner Fary Almánzar, mother of one of the former baseball player’s children, for alleged gender violence.
However, on both occasions the Prosecutor’s Office archived the file after determining that the facts denounced by the complainant could not be verified with evidence, according to press reports.
“The judge said that the Gender Violence Unit (of the Prosecutor’s Office) did not do the investigation that it had to do,” states a statement from Almánzar’s lawyers.
“Ortiz did not appear at the hearing. His presence was not necessary either because the content of a decision issued by the Prosecutor’s Office was going 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 on Tuesday, after reaching 77.9% of the vote in his first year on the ballot.
After 20 years of experience and three World Series wins with the Red Sox, Ortiz retired from baseball at the end of the 2016 season, with a career average of .286, 631 doubles, 541 home runs, 1,758 RBI and 1,419 runs scored, in addition .620 slugging percentage and a 1.021 OPS.
