The regular season career of Red Sox slugger David Ortiz has come to an end.  The 40-year-old slugger is retiring at the end of this season. In the regular season finale at Fenway yesterday, the playoff-bound Red Sox fell to the Toronto Blue Jays, 2-1. Despite the loss, it was a big party for Big Papi.

Robert Saenz lives in Nicaragua. Last week, he decided to buy a plane ticket to Boston.

Saenz was a student in Boston when the Red Sox won the World Series in 2004 and 2007, and he has fond memories of David Ortiz.

“He’s a clutch player, he does everything for the team,” said Saenz. “He helps the community. He’s everything to me.”

Last week, Saenz decided he had to be at Fenway Park.His plane landed around midnight on Saturday. By 8 a.m. Sunday morning — about 7 hours before first pitch — he was waiting in line to buy a game day ticket.

Saenz was in Boston less than 48 hours, and he estimates the trip will cost him about a thousand dollars. But he said it’s worth it.

“Oh yeah, for sure it’s worth it” said Saenz. “I don’t regret it at all.”

Most of the 36,000-plus fans in attendance didn’t travel quite as far to get to Fenway Park, but they were there for the same reason, to celebrate David Ortiz. And it was quite a celebration.

Before the game, the Red Sox played the national anthem of the Dominican Republic – Ortiz’s native country. Big Papi was gifted a bat made of gold. Gov. Charlie Baker announced that a bridge will be named in his honor. And Ortiz learned that next year, the Red Sox will retire his No. 34.

The most poignant moment from the ceremony came when Ortiz took the mic himself.

“I wanna thank my mom,” said Ortiz.

While talking about his late mother, Ortiz started to choke up. The Sox fans cheered him on.

“OK I’m back,” said Ortiz. “I wanna thank you, mom. Wherever you are. I love you so much and I miss you.”

At the end of his speech, Ortiz dropped to one knee, tipped his hat, and thanked the crowd. After the game, Ortiz explained the gesture.

“The whole game depends on the fans,” said Ortiz. “And I think they deserve that and more. And playing for this organization, the history behind, plus the way the fans approach the game and everything we do is something that is very special. I almost dropped both knees. But it was going to be hard to get up then.”

And it would have been too bad if Ortiz wasn’t able to get up off both knees, because he was batting fourth in the Red Sox lineup. It was far from his best showing. Ortiz went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in the 2-1 loss to the Blue Jays.

But Ortiz’s career isn’t over yet. Now that regular season, and the celebrations, are over, Ortiz can turn his full attention to the playoffs, with the goal of winning a fourth World Series title for himself, his fans, and the Boston Red Sox.