Ramón Ortiz

Ramón Ortiz
Free Agent
Pitcher
Born: May 24, 1973 (1973-05-24) Cotuí, Dominican Republic
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
Professional debut
MLB: August 19, 1999 for the Anaheim Angels
NPB: May 2, 2008 for the Orix Buffaloes
MLB statistics (through 2011 Season)
Win–loss record	86-84
Earned run average	4.93
Strikeouts	887
Teams
Anaheim Angels (1999–2004) Cincinnati Reds (2005) Washington Nationals (2006) Minnesota Twins (2007) Colorado Rockies (2007) Orix Buffaloes (2008) (NPB) Los Angeles Dodgers (2010) Chicago Cubs (2011)
Career highlights and awards
World Series champion (2002)

This article is about the Dominican professional pitcher. For the Puertorican guitarist, see Ramon Ortiz (musician).

Ramón Diógenes Ortiz (born May 24, 1973, in Cotuí, Dominican Republic) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher. He has previously pitched in Major League Baseball for the Anaheim Angels, Cincinnati Reds, Washington Nationals, Minnesota Twins, Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Dodgers, Tampa Bay Rays and Chicago Cubs as well as the Orix Buffaloes of Nippon Professional Baseball.

Professional career

Anaheim Angels

Ortiz was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Anaheim Angels in 1995. He made his Major League debut on August 19, 1999, when he started for the Angels against the Chicago White Sox. He pitched eight innings, allowing four hits and one run to pick up the victory. His best season was 2002, when he went 15-9 with a 3.77 ERA for the Angels. He earned the win in Game 3 of the 2002 World Series against the San Francisco Giants. In 2003, he set a career high with 16 victories.

Ramon Ortiz has an estimated of $20.5 million, signing six contracts throughout his career, each for less than 6.1 million dollars.

Cincinnati Reds

On December 14, 2004, Ortiz was traded by the Angels to the Cincinnati Reds for Dustin Moseley. He went 9-11 with a 5.36 ERA in 30 starts for the Reds.

Washington Nationals

Ortiz signed with the Washington Nationals as a free agent prior to the 2006 season. On September 4, 2006, he took a no-hitter into the 9th inning against the Cardinals before having it broken up by the first batter in the 9th, Aaron Miles. Ortiz also hit his first career home run in the same game. It was a solo shot off of St. Louis reliever Jorge Sosa. Ortiz was three outs away from becoming the third no-hit pitcher in Major League Baseball who had homered in the same game, joining Earl Wilson (1962) and Rick Wise (1971).

Minnesota Twins

On January 19, 2007, Ortiz signed with the Minnesota Twins for a one-year deal worth $3.1 million dollars. Ortiz began the season as the third starter, behind Johan Santana and Boof Bonser and ahead of Sidney Ponson and Carlos Silva. However, after a disappointing start to the season, Ortiz was moved to the bullpen.

Colorado Rockies

On August 15, 2007, Ortiz was traded to the Colorado Rockies in return for minor leaguer Matt Macri. He appeared in relief in 10 games for the Rockies and then became a free agent following the season.

Orix Buffaloes

On April 1, 2008, Ortiz was signed by the Orix Buffaloes of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. He started 17 games for Orix and was 4-7 with a 5.82 ERA.

San Francisco Giants

On February 10, 2009, Ortiz signed a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training with the San Francisco Giants. He spent the season with the AAA Fresno Grizzlies, going 5-4 with a 3.05 ERA in 35 games (16 starts).

Los Angeles Dodgers

He signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers prior to the 2010 season, with an invitation to spring training. After good performances in spring training games, Ortiz was added to the Dodgers Major League roster to start the season. He picked up his first win since 2007 with a relief performance on May 1. On May 15, 2010 Ortiz started for the Dodgers against the San Diego Padres, his first major league start since May 26, 2007. He was designated for assignment on May 27, and on June 3, he was released.

New York Mets

Ortiz signed a minor league contract with the New York Mets on June 22. Ortiz pitched well for the Mets' Triple A affiliate, posting a 3.94 ERA with 6.0 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9 in Buffalo.

Tampa Bay Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays signed him and assigned him to Triple A Durham Bulls. He made 4 starts for Durham, and was 0-1 with a 6.35 ERA.

Chicago Cubs

On April 10, 2011, the Chicago Cubs signed Ortiz to a minor league deal. He had his contract purchased by the Cubs on July 5. He appeared in 22 games for the Cubs going 1-2 with a 4.86 ERA. He was granted Free Agency on October 30.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• Nippon Professional Baseball career statistics from Japanesebaseball.com