Despite what happens the rest of the way this off season, the theme for the Boston Red Sox' 2016 season may have just been decided; A Farewell to Big Papi.

According to multiple reports, the team's designated hitter David Ortiz has announced that the 2016 season will be his last as a major leaguer.

The soon-to-be-40-year-old became the latest member of the exclusive 500 homer club in 2015 as he hit 37 home runs and drove in 108 RBI for a struggling Red Sox club last season.

Ortiz is, of course, revered in the Massachusetts area for his powerful bat and postseason credentials that place him towards the top of the list among playoff players.

His heroics in 2004 against the rival New York Yankees in the ALCS will go down in Boston sports history as some of the highlights of many a Red Sox fan's lives.

Ortiz has been a part of three world champion teams in Boston, including that 2004 team that broke the franchise's 86 year drought of championship-less baseball.

In 82 postseason games, Ortiz has a slash line of .295/.409/.553 along with 17 homers and 60 RBI.

While he has been linked to PED use in the past, specifically as one of the players mentioned on a 2003 list of positive steroid test that included then teammate Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi, Ortiz has always claimed he has played the game clean throughout his career.

The steroid controversy and lack of a true defensive position have been two factors brought up in the past, as the media has debated over the years whether or not Ortiz will someday find his way to the game's Hall of Fame in  Cooperstown, New York.

Based on the stats and big moments he's provided, he has a strong case to be the first full time DH inducted into the Hall. Only time will tell, but for now it seems safe to say that Ortiz will continue to be a cult figure in Massachusetts for years to come.

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