BOSTON, MA - JULY 06: David Ortiz #34 of the Boston Red Sox celebrates after hitting a two-run home run in the first inning during the game against the Texas Rangers at Fenway Park on July 6, 2016 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
David Ortiz received quite a fun surprise built to honor him at Fenway Park on Wednesday.
Wednesday was LEGO Day at the old ballpark, and before the Boston Red Sox defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 8-6, the 40-year-old Dominican designated hitter was celebrated in a rather special manner: the Red Sox unveiled a life-sized LEGO statue of Ortiz, one that will be kept at the stadium.
The 6-foot-7, 170-pound replica was made using 34,510 LEGO pieces and looks impressive, even though it doesn’t have the exact same dimensions as Ortiz (6’3″, 230 lbs). Lego master builder Erik Varszegi, per ESPN.com’s David Schoenfield, noted that there is a steel bar from the head to the top of the legs holding the work of art together. If it had been constructed entirely out of Legos, the statue would weigh approximately 400 pounds. The statue reportedly took 290 hours of labor to complete.
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This is not the first statue/portrait of a prominent MLB player to be revealed this season. One month ago, the San Francisco Giants set up a huge Madison Bumgarner double at AT&T Park.
Ortiz’s statue comes complete with tattoos, as well as his sunglasses and signature move of pointing skyward with both hands while looking up. The Red Sox star couldn’t resist posing next to it.
BOSTON, MA – JULY 06: David Ortiz #34 of the Boston Red Sox celebrates after hitting a two-run home run in the first inning during the game against the Texas Rangers at Fenway Park on July 6, 2016 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
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