Advertisement

Five questions with David Ortiz about his new reality show, 'Big Papi Needs a Job'

Mike Oz

David Ortiz, the man known inside and outside the baseball world as Big Papi, ended his career with 2,472 career hits. Now, he’s hoping for at least one more. Of the TV variety.

Ortiz, a year and change removed from retirement, is starring in a new reality show called “Big Papi Needs a Job” that premieres Wednesday night at 8 p.m. on Fusion. The series follows Big Papi as he learns about and then tries various non-baseball professions. In the premiere, he plays music at the prestigious Berklee College of Music and learns how to give manicures.

[Your chance to win on football’s biggest day. Sign up for Squares Pick’em]

Throughout the season, he’ll try his hand at dog grooming, zookeeping, brewing beer and even guiding tours at his former baseball home, Fenway Park. Yahoo Sports talked to Ortiz ahead of the premiere of “Big Papi Needs A Job” about some of the jobs he’s learned thus far, the worst job he ever had before baseball and how he ended up on reality TV.

Zookeeper is one of the jobs David Ortiz tries on his new reality show, “Big Papi Needs a Job.” (Fusion)
Zookeeper is one of the jobs David Ortiz tries on his new reality show, “Big Papi Needs a Job.” (Fusion)

1. Did you ever think you’d be a reality TV star?
David Ortiz: Well, the reality is that reality shows are based on personalities and throughout my career, I showed a little bit of it. It wasn’t what I was thinking about when I was playing, but it’s not like I was surprised when somebody approached me with the idea.

2. What made you want to do a show like this?
Ortiz: Retirement! But the reality is, we take for granted peoples’ job, what normal people do. But once you starting doing it, you start appreciating what people do around you. I have a dog washer. They walk in and walk out. I never thought about how important it was what they do.

3. Outside of the show, what’s the worst job you’ve ever had?
Ortiz: Working at an auto parts place when I was 13, 14 years old. I didn’t think it was fun. But it was what it was.

4. On the show, did they try to get you to do any jobs that you just flat-out wouldn’t do?
Ortiz: Not yet, everything has not been difficult. But we talk about it before I engage myself to do anything. We discuss it before.

5. If you had to pick one job you learned on the show to actually do as your career, what would it be?
Ortiz: Probably the beer. I liked making beer. It’s not making it, it’s tasting it. You begin the day drinking beer and you end the day drinking beer also.

More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:

– – – – – –

Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!