Here’s a shock: David Ortiz might be older than what it says on his birth certificate.

“The chances of his birth certificate being accurate are zero,” the scout said. “That’s both birth certificates. Remember, he was David Arias [when he played in the minor leagues for] Seattle.”

From 2004-07, Ortiz did things rarely seen on a baseball field. According to Elias Sports Bureau, he is one of five players in MLB history to have four or more consecutive seasons of 35 or more home runs, 115 or more RBIs and a slugging percentage of .600 or better. The other players to pull off that feat are Babe Ruth (1926-32), Jimmie Foxx (1932-36), Sammy Sosa (1998-2001) and Albert Pujols (2003-06).

Ruth’s power left him quickly, and he went from 34 homers in 1933 to 22 in ’34 and just six in his final season of 1935. But he was 40 years old when his career ended. Ortiz is just 33. Unless you believe his birth certificate is incorrect, which some people do.

A better comparison with Ortiz is Foxx. His career hit a wall at age 34, when he only hit eight home runs after 14 straight seasons of double-digit homers. Foxx’s demise is attributed largely to a sinus problem and alcohol abuse, though.

When it comes to Ortiz’s struggles this season, some believe the former slugger can’t hit without Manny protecting him in the lineup. Some believe that he’s off the juice. Some believe he’s still hurt. Some believe that he has lacked confidence and is just in a massive funk.

Chances are, Ortiz’s issues come from a combination of a couple of the aforementioned reasons, if not all of them.

But if you want to believe that his struggles are linked to him getting off the juice, there are some factors that support your theory, the biggest of which is that there’s a list out there with 100-plus names written on it of players who tested positive for PEDs. Is Ortiz’s name on that list? Who knows, but until that list is released (if it ever is), all of the Ortiz-steroid talk is just speculation.

It’s not a stretch to believe, however, that Ortiz started using PEDs around the time he got to Boston in 2003. As the article notes, his most productive seasons came from 2004 through 2007. Last year he battled a variety of injuries and at some point, he could have gotten off PEDs and now his body is aging rapidly. With that, he’s not able to have the same success on the field and pitchers have figured out (quite easily I might add) how to pitch to him.

Again though, this is all just speculation. As of now, there is no proof that Ortiz ever used PEDs and maybe he is just getting old and the game is passing him by. And if he is older than what his birth certificate says, who knows how much older he truly is.

The mystery continues.

David Ortiz will do anything to break out of the incredible funk he’s in this season, including getting his eyes checked.

“You know what? I’ve been thinking about getting my eyes checked, for real,” Ortiz said this morning. “There have been some situations that something has happened to my eyes, my vision. But I’m planning on getting my eyes checked out sometime soon. I don’t know. It’s just sometimes that I’ve been feeling lately. It’s not anything crazy, but just to make sure.

“We get our eyes checked every year. I’m 20-20. Go and check it out. It’s not anything big. I will, though. I seriously will.”

A ball player’s eyes are everything to them, so it’s not a stretch to think that Ortiz’s issues could have something to do with his peepers. But considering he got them checked before the season and has 20/20 vision, his problems at the plate probably have nothing to do with his eyes.

There has been a lot made about Ortiz’s struggles this year. Some believe that the absence of Manny Ramirez in the Red Sox’s lineup has led to Ortiz not getting enough good pitches to hit, while conspiracy theorists say that his struggles can be tied to him getting off the juice. We can speculate all we want about whether or not Ortiz has ever used PEDs, but the fact remains that he’s never tested positive for them, as far as we know.

Don’t forget that Ortiz is no spring chicken, either. He’s 33-years old and while plenty of players have been productive well into their mid-30s, Ortiz could just be breaking down. He’s also dealt with a variety of nagging injuries, so there’s a good chance that the overall wear and tear his body has amassed over the years is finally catching up to him.

We’ll see what comes out of Ortiz visiting the eye doctor. Several players have gotten LASIK eye surgery with great results but again, if Ortiz’s vision is already 20/20 there probably isn’t much need to have that type of procedure.