Ortiz played for the San Francisco Giants, Atlanta Braves, Arizona Diamondbacks, Baltimore Orioles, Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball.
[1] The right-hander was selected by the San Francisco Giants in the 4th round of the June 1995 Major League Baseball draft.
[citation needed] In 1999, Ortiz came into his own and held on to his spot in the Giants' rotation, jumping on the scene as one of the National League's premier starters.
[citation needed] 2000 was a tale of two seasons for Ortiz, as he was rocked hard before the All-Star break to a tune of three wins, eight losses and 7.55 ERA falling out of favor with manager Dusty Baker.
His 10–4 record and 3.22 ERA after the mid-summer classic helped San Francisco into the National League playoffs, and Ortiz started Game 3 of 2000 NLDS versus the New York Mets.
[citation needed] Ortiz returned to form in 2001 owning a 17–9 record a solid 3.29 ERA, anchoring the pitching staff for a competitive Giants squad.
His personal six-game winning streak down the stretch propelled San Francisco into the playoffs and Ortiz captured two more victories (with a 2.19 ERA) over Atlanta in the Division Series.
[3] United with pitching guru Leo Mazzone, Ortiz put together a spectacular season, going 21–7 with a 3.81 ERA and collecting his only All-Star nod.
[citation needed] Ortiz displayed more pitching prowess in 2004 helping Atlanta to another division title while collecting a 15–9 record, with a slightly inflated 4.19 ERA.
[citation needed] Ortiz was on the move again in 2005, this time to Arizona as the Diamondbacks tried to overhaul their starting rotation and line-up after a 111 loss season the year before.
[4] The pitcher who had never spent as much as a day on the disabled list in the previous seven seasons, battled a rib fracture after winning four of his first six games for the D-Backs.
The five losses contributed to 1–14 mark from May 2005 to May 2006, and the Diamondbacks simply could not afford to allow Ortiz to work out his issues at the major league level.
[5] With nearly $22 million and over two-and-a-half years remaining on the contract, Arizona's cut of Ortiz is thought to be the most expensive release in Major League Baseball history.
[9] On January 13, 2009, the Houston Astros signed Ortiz to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training.
[14] On January 8, 2010, Ortiz signed a minor league deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers with an invite to spring training.
[15] After good performances in spring training games, Ortiz was added to the Dodgers Major League roster to start the season.
[citation needed] Ortiz resides in Mesa, Arizona with his wife Stacy, two daughters Grace Elaine and Lilian Reid and son Hudson.