Former Red Sox star David Ortiz took his first steps Tuesday, following a second surgery after he arrived in Boston on Monday night.
Ortiz is in stable condition, his wife, Tiffany, said in a statement sent through the team.
Ortiz has been alert, has spoken to his family and “even flashed that smile,” his media assistant, Leo Lopez, told ESPN. The second surgery lasted until about 1 a.m. ET on Tuesday, Lopez said, without specifying any details. Ortiz remains in intensive care and will be closely monitored for the next 24 to 48 hours.
“On behalf of me and my family, I want to thank John and Linda Henry, Tom Werner, Sam Kennedy and the Boston Red Sox for all that they are doing for David and our family, as well as Dr. Larry Ronan and the amazing staff at Massachusetts General Hospital,” Tiffany Ortiz said. “Lastly, I want to thank everyone for the outpouring of support and love that we have received during this incredibly difficult time. We ask for privacy as David works towards recovery.”
Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona, who managed Ortiz with the Red Sox from 2004-11, said Tuesday he spoke with one of the doctors who is treating Ortiz in Boston and said the retired slugger is “in great hands.”
“[Ortiz] is a very special person, not just to me, but to a lot of people,” Francona said. The veteran manager added that Ortiz “could light up a room” with his personality, but also worked hard at his craft and was a team leader.
Ortiz was shot at a club Sunday in his native Dominican Republic and underwent emergency surgery to repair damage done by the bullet to both his intestines and his liver. He was stabilized and then flown to Boston and taken by ambulance, with police escort, to Massachusetts General Hospital.
Authorities said Ortiz, 43, was ambushed by a man who got off a motorcycle and shot him in the back at nearly point-blank range around 8:50 p.m. local time at the Dial Bar and Lounge in Santo Domingo.
Police have two people in custody, the suspected shooter and the suspected driver of the motorcycle, a source close to the investigation told ESPN Deportes. But officially, police have acknowledged the arrest of only one suspect.
The motorcycle driver has been identified as 25-year-old Eddy Feliz Garcia, who was captured and beaten by a crowd of people at the bar, according to Dominican National Police director Ney Aldrin Bautista Almonte.
Garcia suffered a cranium contusion and trauma to his thorax, left knee and right leg, according to the Dominican Republic’s National Health Service. He was treated at the Dario Contreras Hospital in Santo Domingo before being released to police custody.
Police have not yet released the identity of the suspected gunman.
Investigators are trying to determine whether Ortiz was the intended target, Bautista said. Ortiz’s father, Leo, told local media he had no idea why someone would have shot his son.
Ortiz, who was born in Santo Domingo, played major league baseball for 20 seasons and is best known for the 14 years he spent with Boston.
Ortiz made 10 All-Star teams and won three World Series with the Red Sox before retiring in 2016. He was named World Series MVP in 2013, when he helped the Red Sox defeat the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Red Sox retired Ortiz’s No. 34 in 2017, and Boston renamed a bridge and a stretch of road outside Fenway Park in his honor. He maintains a home in Weston, on the outskirts of Boston.
Information from ESPN’s Marly Rivera and The Associated Press was used in this report.