About Russ Ortiz
Russell Reid Ortiz is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants, Atlanta Braves, Arizona Diamondbacks, Baltimore Orioles, Houston Astros, and Los Angeles Dodgers. He is 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) tall, and weighs 220 pounds. 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. 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. 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. Despite the ten runs, Ortiz won the game as the Giants outslugged Milwaukee 16–10, making Ortiz the first pitcher since Bob Friend in 1954 to allow ten or more runs and still earn a win.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.