Ex-Boston Red Sox slugger David ‘Big Papi’ Ortiz sells Miami home for $11million

• The 47-year-old Dominican-American, who retired from professional baseball in 2016, has sold his Miami mansion
• The five-bedroom, roughly 10,200-square-foot home in Pinecrest, 11 miles from downtown Miami, was listed for $12.5 million in February and sold for $10.95 million – a new record for the neighborhood
• Ortiz and his ex-wife, Tiffany Ortiz, built the house in 2019 after paying $1.5 million for the lot in 2016: the unnamed buyer is moving from Boston to Miami

Former Boston Red Sox star David Ortiz has sold the five bedroom Florida mansion he built with his ex-wife for a record-breaking $11 million.

The 10,200-square-foot home has been bought by an unnamed buyer moving from Boston down to the Miami area. It is not known whether the buyer is a fan, and Ortiz’s legacy factored into the purchase. 

Ortiz, 47, bought the plot in Pinecrest, 11 miles from downtown Miami, in 2016 for $1.5 million with his then-wife, Tiffany.

The pair filed for divorce in December 2020 after 25 years together and have two children: a son, D’Angelo, an 18-year-old rising baseball star, and a daughter Alexandra, 22. 

The Ortizes completed the home in 2019.

It was listed for $12.5 million in February by Michael Martinez of ONE Sotheby’s International Realty.

The home boasts a lounge with a bar used to display sports memorabilia. 

There is an eight-seat theater with a bar, and a light-up ceiling designed to imitate stars in the night sky. 

The grounds, around one acre, feature a swimming pool, a garage, a gazebo, three fire pits and multiple water features. 

Ortiz spent most of his career at the Boston Red Sox, where he was their designated hitter. 

He made international headlines in April 2013 in the wake of the Boston Marathon Bombing when he declared to the crowd: ‘This is our f***ing city, and nobody is going to dictate our freedom. Stay strong.’ 

This year, Ortiz reflected on the speech in an interview with the Associated Press.

‘You know what, 10 years later I can tell you about the impact of what I say (had),’ Ortiz said Sunday. ‘To be honest with you, I’m so proud it was taken that way. You don’t know, sometimes somebody needs to push that button. I think I did. 

‘Right now, I can tell you, the feedback coming from the people worldwide from everywhere I go. I did something good and I’m pretty proud of it.’ 

On retiring he joined Fox Sports as a commentator.

In June 2019, Ortiz was ambushed by a man who got off a motorcycle and shot him in the back at close range while he was at a bar with friends in a well-off neighborhood of Santo Domingo.

Two men, including the alleged shooter Rolfi Ferreyra Cruz, were each sentenced to 30 years in prison by Santo Domingo’s First Collegiate Court.

A private investigator hired by Ortiz found out the star was targeted by a Dominican drug trafficker who was jealous of him. 

The findings by former Boston police commissioner Edward Davis contradicted a previous theory by law enforcement in the Dominican Republic that the hitman was actually hired to shoot Ortiz’s cousin Sixto David Fernandez, who was sitting at the same table. 

It is unclear why Ortiz is selling his palatial house.

Other famous faces living in the neighborhood include singer Marc Anthony and former Los Angeles Lakers player Lamar Odom.

The previous record for Pinecrest was set in 2022, when Miami Heat player Tyler Herro’s home sold for $10.5 million.

Homes in Pinecrest sold for a median $2.975 million in April, up 24 percent from the same time last year, as the number of home sales fell 38.7 percent in the same period, according to Redfin.