Red Sox's Ortiz Closing in on Top 25 in Career Home Runs

When the Boston Red Sox's designated hitter David Ortiz cracked his third home run of the season Tuesday, he pulled within three home runs of Gary Sheffield for 25th on the career home run list, per Baseball-Reference.com.

The 40-year-old has already announced 2016 will serve as his farewell season, but he's not showing any signs of slowing down. On the season, Ortiz owns a .321/.406/.786 slash line, with his nine RBI placing him eighth on the list after Wednesday's action. Of the 17 others tied or ahead of him in the category, all but one (Starlin Castro) have played in more games.

Boston has started the season a bit shaky, owning a 3-1 record out of the gate before dropping three of the last four games. Considering the campaign is just eight games old for the Red Sox, it's definitely not time to declare the sky falling, but the team likely envisioned a better start.

Ortiz will almost assuredly surpass Sheffield this season, barring a long-term injury of some kind. If Ortiz can remain on par with his past couple of years—35 and 37 home runs—the veteran slugger could challenge Mickey Mantle (536 career home runs) for 17th on the all-time list by season's end.

A well-respected player around the league, Big Papi will likely receive treatment similar to what Derek Jeter got in his 2014 farewell tour. While some of his most memorable moments have come off the field—i.e. his post-Boston Marathon bombing speech—Ortiz has certainly made a name for himself as a pure hitter as well. If the team can turn it around, there's a good chance he will be at the heart of some more in his last go-around.