David Ortiz’s legacy and ‘aura’ through the eyes of one shaken Hall of Famer

Hall of Famer John Smoltz, who knows from auras, sat in a Yankee Stadium broadcast booth Monday afternoon and thought back to the first time he witnessed Big Papi in full splendor, down in the Dominican Republic.

“Just the whole David Ortiz aura is unbelievable,” Smoltz said, before preparing to call the Subway Series opener (which rain postponed) for the MLB Network.

That unbelievable aura heightened the disbelief that circulated throughout the industry from late Sunday through Monday: Ortiz, the retired Red Sox slugger, was shot in the back Sunday while at an outdoor bar in his native country. Following a lengthy surgery, he was being transported to Boston on Monday, courtesy of the Red Sox, to undergo further treatment.

Here in the Bronx, this didn’t go down as a general “Life is scary — you never know what can happen” moment, people recycling their clichés in response to a random tragedy, as much as a specific, emotional reaction to this bizarre scenario: Ortiz, one of the game’s biggest characters and best ambassadors, someone who always seemed to control the action on the field, finding himself victimized in a suspicious incident — captured on video, to boot.

“That’s about as scary as it gets,” said Smoltz, Ortiz’s teammate on the 2009 Bosox. “I can’t even imagine sitting there and having that happen in broad daylight, especially in his home country. When you read the [headline], it doesn’t sound that bad. But when you actually see what happened, it really is a miracle he’s alive. So hopefully he’s going to heal.”

“Scary. Scary,” echoed injured Yankees pitcher Luis Severino, a native Dominican like Ortiz. “You don’t see that happening often in the DR. They have respect for the players there, somebody like him. It was weird.”

How weird remains to be determined. The Daily Mail reported that Dominican authorities believe Ortiz was targeted by an unidentified drug lord who believed Ortiz was having an affair with his wife and therefore hired a pair of police officers for the mission. While Ortiz’s representative Leo Lopez reportedly told the Dominican newspaper Diario Libre, “It was an act of hired killers,” Lopez denied a woman was involved.

Ortiz has built up such goodwill among his contemporaries, it’s hard to envision his star falling at all, no matter what led to this terrible episode.

“He was one of those people in the game you just gravitate towards — his personality, the way he is,” CC Sabathia said. “[He was] willing to help out with any charity thing I had. He’s always been there.”

“A giant in our sport,” Aaron Boone said. “Charismatic, a great guy, great competitor. He still is a giant in our sport, even in retirement.”

Imagine if Ortiz hadn’t emerged with the Red Sox in 2003 — yes, yes, he turned up positive in that year’s “survey testing” on illegal performance-enhancing drugs, yet passed every subsequent test — after the Twins didn’t tender him a contract following the 2002 season. How much poorer would the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry be without his presence? How much worse would baseball be?

Ortiz has served as a tale of inspiration for many aspiring players, particularly those from Latin America. Now he adds an unwanted chapter of serious adversity to his tale, with hopefully the worst behind him.

“I know we’re living in different times. We really are,” Smoltz said. “I just can’t believe it.”

It’ll be great, good fortune willing, when Ortiz can hang out on the field again, roaring jokes and laughing, before a Yankees-Red Sox game at Fenway Park. When the baseball world can go back to enjoying his presence rather than praying for him. When the video footage of him that people want to discuss the most involves him hitting clutch homers rather than suffering a brutal attack.

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