Héctor Ortiz Montañez (October 14, 1969 – February 28, 2024) was a Puerto Rican professional baseball catcher and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

and Texas Rangers. He also coached in MLB for the Texas Rangers.

Playing career

Ortiz was born on October 14, 1969, in Río Piedras, Puerto Rico. He attended Luis Hernaiz Verone High School in Canóvanas, Puerto Rico. Ortiz attended

Paris Junior College Paris Junior College (PJC) is a public community college with three campuses in Texas: Paris, Greenville, and Sulphur Springs. The college was founded in 1924 as a campus of Paris Independent School District. Nearly 5,000 students are enrolled ...

in Paris, Texas, and

Ranger College Ranger College is a public community college in Ranger, Texas. The college's website asserts that it "is one of the oldest public two-year colleges in continuous operation in the state of Texas." In conjunction with its main campus in Ranger, the ...

in Ranger, Texas. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 35th round of the 1988 MLB Draft. Ortiz's career spanned from 1988 through 2005. He spent eight seasons in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization, five in the

, two in the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

, and one each in the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers, and Washington Nationals organizations.

Major leagues

Ortiz appeared in 86 Major League games in 1998, 2000, and 2001 for the

. He played in seven games with the Texas Rangers in 2002.

Coaching career

Minor leagues

Retiring after the 2005 season, Ortiz rejoined the Texas Rangers as a minor league coach. In 2006, 2007, and 2008 he was the

hitting coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisio ...

for the Spokane Indians of the Class A Short Season Northwest League. He was the manager of the Hickory Crawdads of the Class A South Atlantic League in 2009 and their

in 2010. In 2011, he was the manager for the

Arizona Rangers The Arizona Rangers is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, noncommissioned civilian auxiliary that supports law enforcement in the US, state of Arizona. In 2002, the modern-day Arizona Rangers were officially recognized by the State of Arizona when the Leg ...

of the Rookie-level Arizona League. From 2011 through 2014, Ortiz served as the Rangers Minor League catching coordinator. After being let go from the major league staff following the 2020 season, Ortiz returned to minor league coaching as a member of the team's player development staff until his death. In the offseasons, Ortiz also managed in the

Puerto Rican Winter League Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to: Places *El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain *Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines *Puerto Colombia, Colombia *Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela *Puerto Galera, Orient ...

Major leagues

Ortiz served as the Texas Rangers first base coach in 2015, 2016, and 2017. In 2018, he served as the major league

bullpen coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisio ...

. Ortiz returned to the role of first base coach of the Texas Rangers for the 2019 season. He served as the Rangers catching coach in 2020 and was let go following that season.

Death

Ortiz died from

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...

in Phoenix, Arizona, on February 28, 2024. He was 54.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ortiz, Hector 1969 births 2024 deaths Deaths from pancreatic cancer in Arizona Sportspeople from Río Piedras, Puerto Rico Baseball players from San Juan, Puerto Rico Major League Baseball players from Puerto Rico Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball first base coaches Major League Baseball bullpen coaches Kansas City Royals players Texas Rangers players Texas Rangers coaches Paris Dragons baseball players Ranger Rangers baseball players Salem Dodgers players Vero Beach Dodgers players Yakima Bears players Bakersfield Dodgers players San Antonio Missions players Albuquerque Dukes players Orlando Cubs players Iowa Cubs players Wichita Wranglers players Omaha Golden Spikes players Oklahoma RedHawks players Omaha Royals players Durham Bulls players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players New Orleans Zephyrs players Minor league baseball coaches Minor league baseball managers

Playing career

Major leagues

Coaching career

Minor leagues

Major leagues

Death

See also

References

External links