David Ortiz Will Be The 2023 Boston Marathon Grand Marshal

BOSTON, MA — Three-time World Series champion and Red Sox legend David Ortiz will serve as the Grand Marshal of the 2023 Boston Marathon, the Boston Athletic Association announced in a news release Friday.

The 127th Boston Marathon Boston will be held on Patriots' Day, April 17, with 30,000 entrants from 122 countries and all 50 U.S. states making their way from Hopkinton to Boston, the BAA said.

"Ortiz, whose rousing speech united Boston in the aftermath of April 15, 2013, returns ten years on to ceremonially guide the field of participants along the course," the BAA wrote. "A leader on the Red Sox from 2003-2016, Ortiz embodied the strength and resilient spirit of Boston both on and off the playing field throughout his career."

Shortly before the tape is broken at the finish line on Boylston Street, Ortiz will arrive in a 2023 Honda Pilot, the official vehicle of the Boston Marathon, according to the BAA.

For a complete list of Boston Marathon events, visit the Boston Athletic Association's website.

Ortiz came to Boston as a part-time player and left as one of the icons of his generation, being elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in January 2022.

One of the rare players renowned by fans and peers as a living legend during his playing days, Ortiz is the only thread connecting Boston's three world championships between 2004-13 — and an integral one to each, winning 2004 ALCS MVP and 2013 World Series MVP.

His most memorable individual moments may have come during the 2013 season: When he told everyone whose [expletive] city it was after the Boston Marathon bombings, and when he keyed another postseason comeback with a grand slam that sent Torri Hunter and the Detroit Tigers out of the park.