(CNN) David Ortiz opened up for the first time since being shot in June during an exclusive interview with CNN affiliate Univision that was at times emotional.

The former Boston Red Sox slugger replayed the events of that night and the difficulties he's faced since to Univision's Tony Dandrades, in an interview that was posted by the network yesterday.

"I almost died, man," he said, with tears in his eyes. "I was in a coma. People were criticizing me as if I deserved to be killed."

En una entrevista exclusiva para Univision Noticias, 'Big Papi' habla del ataque que sufrió hace tres meses. David Ortiz estalló en llanto al recordar lo que vivió tras recibir el impacto de bala y aclaró si se trató o no de un lío de faldas. https://t.co/6LjrSepxZ1 — Univision Noticias (@UniNoticias) September 13, 2019

"When the bullet hit me, the first thing I felt was like a sting. The first five seconds I thought I was having a nightmare. [Then] a man named Eliezer, who I am very thankful for, he helped me and took me to the hospital," he recalled.

"I was feeling something that I had never felt before and that was just the feeling of trying to survive," he added.

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