David Ortiz's charity golf event draws baseball's biggest names

PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic - David Ortiz remembers the day as if it were yesterday, when a Dominican reporter and close friend took the Red Sox slugger to a Santo Domingo hospital.

There, watching scores of young children who were in desperate need of heart surgery, but who did not have the means nor the money for proper medical care, the player known as Big Papi soon had a fountain of tears dripping down his cheeks.

"When I saw that, it was like I just signed a deal with children, telling myself, 'I've got to do something to help them out,'" says Ortiz.

That was roughly four years ago. Saturday, Ortiz saw the culmination of his charitable efforts realized when he presided over his first annual celebrity golf tournament in the exclusive Cap Cana resort here on the eastern coast of Ortiz's native Dominican Republic. The four-day event raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the David Ortiz Children's Fund, which helps assist children in the Dominican and throughout New England with their medical needs, particularly children waiting for heart surgery. Ortiz and his wife Tiffany, who is an American, oversee the charity.

You thought Yankee Stadium was the site of this year's All-Star Game? Ortiz single-handedly reached out to many of the best players in baseball for help in making his event a success. As he glances out at the Caribbean, dressed in a powder blue shirt and pants and designer shades and wearing a diamond earring, Ortiz talks about how appreciative he is that teammates, opponents and sports legends were quick to come.

"Having this tournament going on, and seeing the support that everybody's giving me, that made me feel kind of important for the first time in my life," says Ortiz. "And it's because I call one time and everybody - people do nothing but say 'Yes' to me. This is a tough time to get people together. This is everybody's vacation and they already plan things."

Beginning Thursday, bold-face names waltzed through the entrance to Cap Cana's Spanish-style lobby entrance, registered and then were whisked away to private cabanas and rooms in sleek white SUVs. Mariano Rivera. Pedro Martinez. Vladimir Guerrero. Phillies world champion teammates Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins. Those were just a few of the guests who forked over $5,000 to play a round of golf on the Jack Nicklaus-designed Punta Espada course Saturday, with the entry fee going directly to Ortiz's charity.

Alex Rodriguez arrived Friday and created a stir worthy of a papal visit, as a throng of resort staff, event organizers and other guests followed in his wake. But A-Rod was sans an entourage, much less the touring Madonna, the pop star with whom he has been romantically linked to all year. Ortiz howls with laughter when asked if the Material Mom would be making a donation in addition to Rodriguez's.

"If you see a funky airplane flying around here ...," says Ortiz, who can't finish the sentence because he's doubled over in laughter.

Ortiz says the fact that he was able to round up two of the most recognizable names from the Yankees speaks to the goodwill between the players off the field that he says a lot of fans are probably unaware of.

"It's all about the relationships you create. You know how the rivalry is between us and the Yankees, but we still have that good relationship. I had been talking to Alex and Mariano and those guys about this," says Ortiz. "I called Mariano and before I even started talking, he said, 'I'll be there. I got shoulder surgery and don't know if I'm gonna be able to play (golf), but I'm gonna be there, Papi.' He told me straight up. He's the best. That's the kind of stuff that sometimes people don't know."

Ortiz is best remembered by Yankee fans for one titanic clout four years ago, when he drove a Paul Quantrill pitch into the Boston night that changed the course of the American League Championship Series from Yankee to Red Sox dominance. Boston prevailed in Game 4 on Ortiz's game-winning, two-run bomb at Fenway and then stormed on to the World Series, overcoming a 0-3 ALCS deficit and sweeping the Cardinals for the franchise's first title in 86 years.

He may be a Bronx nemesis, but as Red Sox president and CEO Larry Lucchino says, "You'd have to be a helleva investigative reporter to find anyone who can say a negative thing about" Ortiz. From Rivera to Martinez to Torii Hunter to Rollins, there is nothing but respect and admiration for what Ortiz is doing with his charity effort."

"I'm really proud of David, taking advantage of the moment," says Martinez, whose foundation donated $10,000 to Ortiz Friday night at a dinner that decided the golf pairings. "David has a big heart. He's got a heart of gold. I'm glad to see the kind of respect for David. This is for the kids - when you see kids, you reflect yourself, your family."

Rivera, whose shoulder surgery indeed prevented him from participating in the golf tournament, donated $10,000 out of his pocket at the Friday dinner. "It's a great event. When you talk about life, you're not talking about scholarships, things like that. You're talking about kids that need surgery. I'm the kind of person that wants to be part of an event like this," says Rivera.

In addition to Martinez's and Rivera's gifts, there were many players who donated money Friday night, an effort that raised more than $100,000. Ortiz's sponsors - Sharp, Reebok and Vitamin Water are a few - also made charitable gifts. Ortiz's charisma and passion behind helping kids is attracting the attention of businesses, who see him as an ideal partner.

"David has been a tremendous asset for us. He's a well-known name, he represents himself very well. His public face is really the face you meet one on one," says Sharp associate VP of marketing Judah Ziegler.

As the baseball icons gathered at the practice tee Saturday, Ortiz was bellowing his famous laugh, embracing A-Rod, Martinez and others as he prepared to channel his home-run swing into whacking a golf ball.

"I'm zero handicap," Ortiz says with a grin. Well, not quite, but that may prove true down the road. There are whispers that he might team with Rodriguez next year, and he'll have some time to practice.

"I started planning this event a couple years ago. This is my first one and I wanted to do it really, really good - the way it's supposed to be, so we can get to the point that people call me, 'Hey, I want to be at your event,'" says Ortiz. "But good people always help people. All the guys that I called to tell them to come to this event, they know that. And that's why they're here."