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Papi gearing up for big return in 2010

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By Ian Browne / MLB.com

11/19/09 4:30 PM EST

BOSTON -- As evidenced by his wardrobe, David Ortiz didn't need to make an extra trip into Fenway Park on Thursday to promote his upcoming charity golf tournament. Big Papi was wearing workout shorts and a sweatshirt, serving as an obvious clue of what he was going to be doing next once his interviews were complete.

Both general manager Theo Epstein and manager Terry Francona have indicated that Ortiz has been at the ballpark just about every day since the Red Sox were swept by the Angels in the American League Division Series.

The left-handed slugger turned 34 on Wednesday, and he knows that you have to work harder with each birthday.

"I always do that," Ortiz said. "I try to keep myself exercising. I'm a big guy. I'm a guy where there's no way I can just sit down and watch TV and eat. I'd hate to have to come in the following year and people would start saying I'm either overweight or not in shape, or this or that. I'm too old for that. I think you have to take responsibility with whatever you do, especially at your job. I know that. I don't want to go through that.

"I just maintain myself at the gym, working out. I've been doing things, burning calories, trying to stay in the good habits so when you come for the hard work the following year, it's easier."

Epstein, who noted the day after the season ended that the Red Sox needed Ortiz to be "a force" in 2010, has appreciated how seriously the slugger is taking this winter.

"It's good," Epstein said. "He's following through with a really good start to his offseason. He was working out a couple of days after the season ended. He's lost some weight and is in really good shape, so that's a good sign."

Ortiz is entering the final year of his contract, though the Red Sox hold a club option for 2011. Ever prideful, Ortiz wanted to make it clear that he's not on some kind of salary drive.

"What can I tell you? I always look at my last year like my first one," Ortiz said. "What I'm doing right now, I do that every year. I don't want you guys to think that I'm doing what I'm doing right now because it's the last year of my contract and I need to put it together. I do this every year. Every year after the season, I just continue working. I always want to bring my best to the field."

Of course, Ortiz would be the first to acknowledge that 2009 was far from his best. After a horrific first two months, he brought his overall numbers to marks (28 homers, 99 RBIs) that were respectable, but not up to his standards.

Ortiz hopes that being able to take more swings this winter will make a difference. Coming off his left wrist woes of 2008, Ortiz went at a slower pace and estimates he didn't start swinging until January.

"This offseason, all I'm going to do is start hitting earlier than last year," Ortiz said. "I'm going to go back to my normal routine this year. Last year, I finished the season with that hand injury and the doctors didn't want me to swing for a while, like into January or something like that. This year, I'm going to start swinging in November ... end of November, beginning of December."

There will be a brief break from Dec. 3-6, when Ortiz hosts his second annual Celebrity Golf Classic in the Dominican Republic. The goal is to raise as much money as possible for children in need of open heart surgery.

To Ortiz, that venture has been about as rewarding as bashing a walk-off homer over the Green Monster.

"I've seen mothers and dads that, because of ... this heart problem that their children has, they're not allowed to do things like most kids, so their parents have to keep an eye on them 24/7 because anything can take them away," Ortiz said. "But after this surgery, they go back to their normal life and their parents go back to their normal life, so that's great."

Ortiz will have plenty of company at his event. He is expecting manager Terry Francona, pitching coach John Farrell and teammates Jacoby Ellsbury, Mike Lowell, Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, Daniel Bard, Jason Varitek and Tim Wakefield. Stars from around the game will also come out in support of Ortiz, including Mariano Rivera, Alex Rodriguez, Torii Hunter, Vladimir Guerrero, Pedro Martinez, Placido Polanco, Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard.

Once that rewarding event is over, Ortiz will be back to the grind of getting ready for 2010, his eighth season with the Red Sox.

Who will be alongside him for the ride? Ortiz wouldn't mind seeing a big bat come on board, whether or not Jason Bay re-signs.

"Everybody always will welcome a 30-home run hitter -- at any time, any day, any situation," Ortiz said. "To compete with those guys across the street, you better bring it, period."

The guys across the street, of course, are the Yankees, who just won the World Series for the first time since 2000. The Red Sox would like to return the favor in 2010 and bring home their third since '04.

"They went for the big fish," Ortiz said of the Yankees. "CC [Sabathia], he was huge for them this year. A.J. [Burnett], he was good. [Mark] Teixeira, those guys, they made a difference. This division is hard to play in. You've got to get stronger."

So as Ortiz goes about his winter workouts, he will keep an eye on what Epstein does this winter.

"We always need help. We always need guys capable to produce," Ortiz said. "Not only us, everybody. That's why everybody is chasing guys in the offseason who can provide power, RBIs. This is a team that's playing in the [AL] East. Everything is powerful right here. We just had the world champions in the [AL] East. You have Tampa Bay in the East. You better get ready to play in the [AL] East."

If it was up to Ortiz, would he rather see the Red Sox add an elite bat or an overpowering arm?

"If I can get both of them, I bring them in," Ortiz said.

Meanwhile, Ortiz will try to reclaim his status as one of the game's top sluggers, a process he hopes is taking shape by the day this winter.

"I've always been a force here," Ortiz said. "I've always been a guy that this ballclub counts on. I think I know that for a fact. I'm going to prepare myself and come back and try to do it again."

Ian Browne is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.