Ramón Diógenes Ortiz (born May 23, 1973) is a Dominican former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the Anaheim Angels,

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

, and

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

. Ortiz also played for the

Orix Buffaloes The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team formed as a result of the 2004 Nippon Professional Baseball realignment by the merger of the Orix BlueWave of Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes of Osaka, Osaka Prefecture ...

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

(NPB).

Professional career

1999–2005

Ortiz was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Anaheim Angels in 1995. He made his Major League debut on August 19, 1999, starting for the Angels against the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

. 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

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) for the Angels. He earned the win in Game 3 of the

2002 World Series The 2002 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB)'s 2002 Major League Baseball season, 2002 season. The 98th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL ...

against the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

. In 2003, he set a career high with 16 victories. Ortiz earned an estimated $20.5 million, signing six contracts throughout his career, each for less than $6.1 million. On December 14, 2004, the Angels traded Ortiz to the

for Dustin Moseley. He went 9–11 with a 5.36 ERA in 30 starts for the Reds.

2006–2009

Ortiz signed with the

as a free agent before the 2006 season. On September 4, 2006, he took a

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit (baseball), hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in ...

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 baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

in that game, a solo shot off of St. Louis reliever Jorge Sosa. Ortiz was three outs away from becoming the fifth no-hit pitcher in Major League Baseball who had homered in the same game, joining Wes Ferrell (1931), Jim Tobin (1944), Earl Wilson (1962) and

Rick Wise Richard Charles Wise (born September 13, 1945) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher between and for the Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Re ...

(1971). On January 19, 2007, Ortiz signed with the Minnesota Twins for a one-year deal worth $3.1 million. He began the season as the third starter, behind Johan Santana and Boof Bonser and ahead of

Sidney Ponson Sidney Alton Ponson (; born November 2, 1976) is an Aruban former Major League Baseball pitcher. As a player, Ponson stood at tall and weighed . He threw right-handed with a fastball that clocked out at 95 mph. When he made his major league ...

and Carlos Silva. After a disappointing start to the season, Ortiz was moved to the bullpen. On August 15, 2007, Ortiz was traded to the

in return for minor leaguer Matt Macri. He appeared in relief in 10 games for the Rockies and then became a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

On April 1, 2008, Ortiz was signed by the

of Japan's

. He started 17 games for Orix and was 4–7 with a 5.82 ERA. On February 10, 2009, Ortiz signed a minor-league contract with an invitation to spring training with the

. He spent the season with the Triple-A

Fresno Grizzlies The Fresno Grizzlies are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They are located in Fresno, California, and play their home games at Chukchansi Park, which was opened in 2002 in ...

, going 5–4 with a 3.05 ERA in 35 games (16 starts).

2010–2015

Ortiz signed a minor-league contract with the

before the 2010 season, with an invitation to spring training. After good performances in spring training games, he 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, Ortiz started for the Dodgers against the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

, his first major league start since 2007. He was designated for assignment on May 27, 2010, and on June 3, 2010, he was released. Ortiz signed a minor league contract with the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

on June 22, 2010. He 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 but was later released. The

then signed Ortiz and assigned him to Triple A

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened ...

. He made 4 starts for Durham, and was 0–1 with a 6.35 ERA before being released. On April 10, 2011, the

signed Ortiz to a minor league deal. He had his contract purchased by the Cubs on July 5, and appeared in 22 games for the Cubs going 1–2 with a 4.86 ERA. He was granted free agency on October 30, 2011. Ortiz signed a minor league contract with the

on February 15, 2012. He also received an invitation to spring training, but was released on March 26. Ortiz spent the 2012 season playing for the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

Triple-A affiliate Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees. On December 18, 2012, The

announced that Ortiz had been signed to a minor league contract with an invitation to major league spring training. On April 15, the Blue Jays selected his contract from the

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

. Ortiz was designated for assignment on April 23 to make room for Aaron Laffey on the roster. Ortiz cleared waivers, and returned to the Buffalo Bisons on April 25. Ortiz was brought up to the Blue Jays on May 9. He got his first win since 2011 in his start on May 15, 2013, against the Giants. The start was also Ortiz's first start of 7 innings or more since 2007. Ortiz was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays on May 28. He cleared waivers and was assigned back to the Buffalo Bisons on May 31. Ortiz had his contract purchased again by the Blue Jays on June 1 when Brandon Morrow was placed on the disabled list. Ricky Romero was outrighted from the 40-man roster to open space for Ortiz. He made his third start of the season for the Blue Jays on June 2, against the

. After pitching to a 2–1 count against Chase Headley, Ortiz suffered an apparent elbow injury and became visibly emotional, leaving the field in tears. He was replaced in the game by Brad Lincoln and the Blue Jays won the game 7–4 in 11 innings. Concerns were raised about the severity of Ortiz's injury and whether it would end his career. Ortiz was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a right elbow strain on June 4, while the team awaited the results of an MRI. Ortiz's MRI revealed no tears in his ulnar collateral ligament. Ortiz was transferred to the 60-day disabled list on June 25. His season ended on the disabled list with a 1–2 record, 6.04 earned run average, and 8 strikeouts over 25 innings. Ortiz signed with the Toros de Tijuana for the 2014 season. On June 2, 2015, Ortiz signed with the Tigres de Quintana Roo. He was released by the Tigres on December 18, 2015.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ortiz, Ramon 1973 births Living people Anaheim Angels players Arizona League Angels players Boise Hawks players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Cedar Rapids Kernels players Chicago Cubs players Cincinnati Reds players Colorado Rockies players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Canada Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Japan Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Mexico Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Durham Bulls players Edmonton Trappers players Erie SeaWolves players Fresno Grizzlies players Iowa Cubs players Lake Elsinore Storm players Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic 20th-century Dominican Republic sportsmen Mexican League baseball pitchers Midland Angels players Minnesota Twins players Navegantes del Magallanes players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Orix Buffaloes players People from Cotuí Sportspeople from Sánchez Ramírez Province Sarasota Reds players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees players Toronto Blue Jays players Washington Nationals players Age controversies in sports