David Ortiz takes trip down memory lane during breakfast with his dad
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Sep 12, 2015; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz (34) hits his 500th home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
There are certain to be plenty of sentimental moments this season for David Ortiz, who has announced that the 2016 season will be his last.
And one of those moments came Thursday -- six weeks before the regular season even begins.
Ortiz was having breakfast with his father, who happened to bring along Big Papi's first home run ball from the majors.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}It was the first of 503 regular-season homers and 17 postseason homers in Ortiz's 19-season major-league career.
Ortiz's first homer, of course, came with the Minnesota Twins, who famously released him after the 2002 season. That's when the Boston Red Sox decided to take a chance on him, and it seems to have worked out OK.