Ortiz is a surname of both Spanish and Basque origin.

People:

• Abdalá Bucaram Ortiz (1952—), President of Ecuador 1996–1997
• Adalberto Ortiz (1914–2003), Ecuadoran novelist, poet and diplomat
• Aldo Ortiz (a.k.a. Ricky Santana) (1960—), Mexican professional wrestler
• Álvaro Ortiz (1978–), Mexican football player
• Ana Alicia Ortiz (1956—), Mexican-American actress
• Bernardo Ortiz de Montellano (1899–1949), Mexican writer and Contemporáneos magazine founder.
• Beto Ortiz (1978—), Peruvian-American journalist, TV personality, and writer
• Carlos Ortiz (1936—), Puerto Rican boxer
• Carlos Julián Ortiz (1974—), Cuban freestyle wrestler
• Carlos Ortiz Longo (1962—), Puerto Rican-American health care manager for NASA
• Claudette Ortiz (contemporary), American soul singer
• Claudia Ortiz De Zevallos (contemporary), Peruvian beauty queen
• Danny Ortiz (1976–2004), Guatemalan football player
• Darwin Ortiz (1948—), American gambler, magician, and author
• David Ortiz (a.k.a. Big Papi), (1975—), Dominican baseball player
• Deborah Ortiz (1957—), American politician, state senator from California
• Dianna Ortiz (contemporary), American Roman Catholic nun who was kidnapped and tortured by the Guatemalan defense forces in 1989
• Diego Ortiz (c. 1510–1580), Spanish composer and musicologist
• Diogo Ortiz de Villegas (1457–1519), Spanish-Portuguese theologian and astronomer
• Elin Ortiz (1945—), Puerto Rican actor, comedian and producer
• Emmanuel Ortiz (1974—), Chicano/Puerto Rican/Irish-American activist and poet
• Enrique Ortiz (disambiguation), multiple people
• Erika Ortiz Rocasolano (1975–2007), sister of Letizia, Princess of Asturias
• Eulalio Martín Gutiérrez Ortiz (1881–1939), President of Mexico 1914–1915
• Felix Ortiz (contemporary), American politician in the New York Assembly
• Fernando Ortiz (1881–1969), Cuban, essayist, ethnomusicologist, and scholar of Afro-Cuban culture
• Fernando Ortiz Arana (1944—), Mexican politician and legislator
• Francisco Ortiz Franco (1954–2004), Mexican journalist
• Francisco Pradilla Ortiz (1848–1921), Spanish artist
• Guillermo Ortiz Martínez (1948—), governor of the Bank of Mexico
• Guillermo Ortiz Mayagoitia (1941—), Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Mexico
• Guillermo Rigondeaux Ortiz (1980—), Cuban boxer
• Héctor Ortiz Ortiz (1950—), Governor of the Mexican state of Tlaxcala
• Héctor Herrera Ortiz (1959—), Cuban Olympic medalist (1992) in the 800-meters
• Ismael Ortiz (1982—), Panamanian swimmer in the 2004 Olympics
• Juan L. Ortiz (1896–1978), Argentine poet
• Junior Ortiz, Baseball catcher
• John Ortiz, an American actor and Co-Founder of LAByrinth Theater Company
• Jorge Ortiz, an Argentine footballer
• José Ortiz (a.k.a. Piculín or Picu) (1963—), Puerto Rican basketball player
• José Luis Ortiz Moreno (contemporary), Spanish astronomer
• José Ortiz Moya (1932—) Spanish comics artist
• Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez (a.k.a. La Corregidora) (1768–1829), conspirator and supporter of the Mexican War of Independence
• Judith Ortiz Cofer (1952—), Puerto Rican author
• Leonor de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Ortiz, the Infanta Leonor of Spain
• Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano, birth name of Letizia, Princess of Asturias
• Lisa Ortiz, American actress
• Ludwig Ortiz, Venezuelan judoka
• Luis Ortiz (1965—), Puerto Rican boxer
• Luis “Perico” Ortiz (1949—), Puerto Rican trumpet player and composer
• Manuel Ortiz (1971—), Mexican professional wrestler
• Manuel Ortiz de Zárate (1887–1946), Chilean artist
• Manuel Antonio Ortiz (19th c.), President of Paraguay 1840–1841
• Omar Ortiz (1976—), Mexican football (soccer) player
• Opie Ortiz (contemporary), American tattoo artist
• Óscar Ortiz (1953—), Argentine football player, and winner of the 1978 World Cup
• Óscar Ortiz (1961—), El Salvadoran politician
• Óscar Ortiz (1973—), Mexican tennis player
• Pascual Ortiz Rubio (1877–1963), President of Mexico 1930–1932
• Paul Ortiz (contemporary), UK guitarist and musician
• Pedro Ortiz Davila (a.k.a. Davilita) (1912–1986), Puerto Rican popular singer
• Ramón Ortiz (1973—), Dominican baseball player
• Raúl Scalabrini Ortiz (1898–1959), Argentine writer, journalist, essayist, and poet
• Ricky Ortiz, ring name of American professional wrestler Richard Young
• Roberto María Ortiz (1886–1942), President of Argentina 1938–1942
• Robert William "Rob-O" Ortiz, American trumpeter and guitarist; lead guitarist for the American rock band Flying Standby
• Ronnie Ortiz-Magro American television personality, Jersey Shore
• Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz (contemporary), American professor and activist
• Russell Ortiz (1974–), American baseball player
• Shalim Ortiz (1979—), Dominican-American singer and actor
• Solomon P. Ortiz (1937—), US Representative from Texas
• Telma Ortiz Rocasolano (1973–), sister of Letizia, Princess of Asturias
• Jacob C. “Tito” Ortiz (1975—), American mixed martial arts fighter
• Victor Ortiz (1987—), American boxer
• Xavier Ortiz (contemporary), Mexican actor and singer
• Yolanda Ortiz (1978—), Cuban diver
• Yñigo Ortiz de Retez (16th c.), Spanish maritime explorer

Places:

• Mata Ortiz, village in Chihuahua, Mexico and a pottery style founded in the village
• Ortiz, Guárico, town in Guárico state, Venezuela
• Ortiz, Colorado, a small village in the San Luis Valley near Alamosa.
• Ortiz, Venezuela

Other:

• Comet White-Ortiz-Bolelli, comet discovered in 1970

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Victor Ortiz
Ortiz in 2011
Statistics
Nickname(s)	Vicious
Rated at	Light Welterweight Welterweight
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Reach	70 in (178 cm)
Nationality	American
Born	(1987-01-31) January 31, 1987 (age 25) Garden City, Kansas, U.S.
Stance	Southpaw
Boxing record
Total fights	34
Wins	29
Wins by KO	22
Losses	3
Draws	2
No contests	0

Victor Ortiz (born January 31, 1987) is an American professional boxer of Mexican descent.^[1] He is a former WBC Welterweight Champion.^[2]

He was previously in the light welterweight division, where he held the USBA & NABO titles.^[3] Ortiz, with a crowd-pleasing, aggressive style, two-fisted power and boyish charm, was made the 2008 ESPN Prospect of the Year.^[4]

He is currently rated as one of the "top three" welterweight boxers in the world by most sporting news and boxing websites, including The Ring,^[5] BoxRec.com,^[6] and ESPN.^[7]

The first loss and the two draws on Ortiz's record are not counted as significant due to the fact the loss came by way of disqualification in the first round for knocking Corey Alarcon cold with an uppercut off a clinch. The first of two draws was a first-round technical draw in January 2007, when Ortiz faced Marvin Cordova Jr., when an accidental head-butt opened a cut on Ortiz's forehead and rendered him unable to continue.^[4] The second draw was a controversial one against Lamont Peterson, as ESPN.com and HBO unofficial scorer Harold Lederman both had it 97-91 in favor for the 23-year-old Ortiz.^[8]

Early life[link]

Ortiz was born and raised in Garden City, Kansas, the second of three children of Mexican immigrant parents. When he was seven years old, Ortiz's mother abandoned his family for a relationship with another man. Shortly thereafter, Ortiz began boxing at the insistence of his father, an alcoholic who often beat his children following his wife's departure.^[9] In an interview, Victor said, "I hated that lady. I drew her a card once with a little rose on it and I gave it to her. She just threw it down and said 'What do I want that shit for?' That's when I picked up boxing. Then my Dad started screwing up, drinking."^[10]

Ortiz' father also abandoned the family five years after their mother left, which forced Ortiz and his five siblings into the Kansas foster care system. Ortiz was twelve years old at the time.^[11] When he won the Kansas Golden Gloves Championship, he was dealing drugs (ecstasy and marijuana). Then Ortiz saw his image in the newspaper after winning the Golden Gloves and it moved him. Ortiz said, "The photo came out all over Kansas and that's when it hit me... I realized that I didn't need to be involved with selling drugs in order to make something of myself. I said screw this. I don't need all this crap or this guilt." His older sister would become a legal adult in 2002 and moved to Denver, Colorado. Ortiz and his younger brother left Kansas and moved in with her.^[12]

Amateur career[link]

While training at a Salvation Army Red Shield Community Center,^[13] he was noticed by former heavyweight boxing contender Ron Lyle, who had become a supervisor at the center. In 2003, Lyle guided Ortiz to a Junior Olympics tournament, where, at the age of sixteen, he won the 132-pound weight division with a perfect 5-0 record. This time, he was noticed by another former boxer, Roberto Garcia, who had held the IBF Super Featherweight Championship during the 1990s and whose father was the trainer of Fernando Vargas.^[14]

Move to California[link]

Though Garcia was based in Oxnard, California, he offered to train Ortiz, who accepted and moved from Colorado to California, where he began training at Oxnard's famous La Colonia Youth Boxing Club. Garcia later became Ortiz's legal guardian, and Ortiz graduated from Pacifica High School. At age seventeen, Ortiz reached the United States Olympic boxing trials in the 132-pound weight class, where he was eliminated in the final stages (The weight class was instead won by Vicente Escobedo).

Ortiz turned professional later in 2004 while still only seventeen years of age. When he reached the age of eighteen in 2005 and became a legal adult, he gained custody of his younger brother, who is now a college student. Ortiz continues to reside in Ventura, California.^[15][16][17]

Victor Ortiz boxed at The Garden City Boxing club where he was trained by five trainers who all worked together to get him ahead in his boxing career. His original trainers included Ignacio "Buck" Avilia, Manuel Rios, Antonio Orozco Sr., Juan M. Aldana Jr. and Alfred Ritz. He won the Ringside National Title in 2001 and 2002 and the National Jr. Olympics in 2002.^{[citation needed]}

Professional career[link]

Light Welterweight[link]

Victor Ortiz media workout at Westside Boxing Club in LA on June 24, 2009

After turning professional, Ortiz easily won his first seven fights against weak opposition. However, on June 3, 2005, Ortiz was controversially disqualified in the first round of a bout against unknown Corey Alarcon in Oxnard. After having already knocked Alarcon down once in the round, Ortiz knocked him down again shortly after referee David Denkin ordered the fighters to separate from a clinch. Alarcon stayed down for the count and was awarded the fight based on Denkin's judgment that Ortiz's knockout punch had been an illegal punch during a break.^[18]

Following the fight with Alarcon, Ortiz continued to win and had built a record of 18-1-1 as of August 30, 2007, when he fought his first well-known opponent, Emmanuel Clottey of Ghana, in only his second bout scheduled for ten rounds. Ortiz defeated Clottey by technical knockout in the tenth and final round.^[19] Three months later, Ortiz followed up on his victory with another knockout win, this time in the first round of a ten-round bout against former junior welterweight titlist Carlos Maussa of Colombia.^[20]

On September 13, 2008, Ortiz fought his first bout scheduled for twelve rounds, against Roberto David Arrieta of Argentina. Ortiz knocked Arrieta down in the second, fourth and fifth rounds and won by technical knockout in the fifth round.^[21] At the end of 2008, ESPN named Ortiz the boxing prospect of the year.

On March 7, 2009, Ortiz fought his first bout televised on HBO World Championship Boxing against Mike Arnaoutis of Greece, who had fought top-ten light welterweight contenders such as Juan Urango, Ricardo Torres and Kendall Holt without ever having been knocked out.^[22] However, Ortiz scored a technical knockout of Arnaoutis in the second round.

On June 27, 2009, Ortiz faced Marcos Rene Maidana (25-1-0) of Argentina in Los Angeles for the Interim WBA Light Welterweight title. Ortiz entered the fight with an eight-fight knockout streak.^[23] Maidana, a dangerous puncher, had won 25 of his 26 previous bouts by knockout. The only previous blemish on his record at that point was a close split decision loss to WBA Champion Andriy Kotelnik.^[24] Both Ortiz and Maidana were knocked down in the first round. Ortiz knocked Maidana to the canvas twice in the second round. Ortiz suffered a cut in the 5th round and was knocked down in the 6th round. The fight was stopped when the ringside physician would not let Ortiz continue to fight.^[25]

Comeback[link]

Before the Maidana fight, Ortiz fired Roberto Garcia and Garcia's father. Ortiz expressed how the Garcias constantly humiliated him through derogatory speech but would then hire Garcia's brother Danny.^[26] After recovering from a broken wrist and switching trainers, Ortiz announced his return fight would be on HBO Boxing After Dark.^[27][28] On December 12, 2009, Ortiz bounced back from the defeat he suffered vs Maidana to stop Antonio Díaz, who failed to answer the bell for the seventh round.^[29] Ortiz then fought Hector Alatorre on February 25, 2010 winning by TKO in the tenth and final round.

Ortiz vs. Campbell

Ortiz was victorious in a unanimous decision victory over Nate Campbell on May 15 at Madison Square Garden on the Undercard of Amir Khan vs. Paulie Malignaggi. Ortiz, 23, was quicker, more active and landed heavier shots throughout the fight. Campbell, 38, did not seem to have much steam on his punches on the few occasions that he landed anything solid. He also appeared troubled all fight by Ortiz's southpaw style and straight left hand as he followed Ortiz around. Ortiz scored a knockdown on a short right hand, although it also looked like he shoved Campbell.^[30]

Ortiz vs. Harris

On September 18, 2010 Victor faced former WBA Light Welterweight Champion Vivian Harris on the Shane Mosley vs. Sergio Mora undercard at Staples Center.^[31] He was on ESPN's SportsNation to promote the fight with Harris. Victor landed 25-of-54 power punches. He dropped Harris with both hands and landed some nasty power punches. That short right really showed off the unique power possessed by Ortiz. Ortiz knocked Harris down three times in the second round en route to a knock out win with :45 seconds left in the third round.^[32]

Ortiz vs. Peterson

On the undercard of Amir Khan vs. Marcos Maidana, Ortiz faced former title challenger Lamont Peterson on December 11 at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Peterson went down for the first time from a right hand that finished a four-punch combination. Peterson got up quickly and did not appear hurt. But he was moments later from another punch and he grabbed on to Ortiz as they tumbled to the mat. But when the fight resumed, Ortiz was on Peterson again and knocked him hard into the ropes, which held him up and caused referee Vic Drakulich to call the second knockdown of the round with about 30 seconds to go. One judge scored the bout a win for Peterson and the other two remaining judges scoring the bout a draw; the fight will go down on record as a draw. This was despite those who were in attendance saying that Ortiz clearly won the fight.^[33]

Welterweight[link]

Ortiz vs. Berto I & II[link]

Ortiz fought Andre Berto for the WBC Welterweight title on April 16, 2011 at the Foxwoods Resort Casino, Mashantucket. Hailed as the early pick for the fight of the year, Ortiz won the fight by unanimous decision over Berto. They both came out aggressively, then just over a minute into the round, Ortiz landed a shot behind Berto’s head and Berto went down. Berto and Ortiz exchanged knockdowns in their fights with both of them going down twice. Both fighters were hurt in that fight. However, Berto took a lot of punishment while against the ropes and looked to be exhausted after the 6th. Ortiz had his way from the 7th on and only had to worry about an occasional big punch from Berto. The judges scored the match 115-110, 114-112 and 114-111 all for the new WBC Welterweight Champion.^[34]

Ortiz will face Berto, whose first thrilling slugfest in April was one of the best fights of the year, once again. The fight, which had been in discussion for weeks, was originally supposed to take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on February 11, 2012. The fight was postponed to June 30, 2012, due to Berto rupturing his biceps in training and being unable to meet the original date. On May 20, 2012 Berto failed an anti-doping test, testing positive for nalondrone. Although Berto denied having ever taken the substance intentionally, the rematch was cancelled and Light Welterweight Champion Josesito Lopez was chosen to take his place.

Star Power[link]

On June 7, 2011, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. announced via twitter that he and Ortiz had an agreement to fight on September 17, 2011.^[35] The fight was for Ortiz's WBC Welterweight belt.^[36] Mayweather, ten years older than Ortiz, fought Ortiz after a 16-month hiatus from boxing.

The fight took place at MGM Grand Garden Arena. From round one, Mayweather used his speed, skills and accurate right hand to tag Ortiz repeatedly. Mayweather seemed in control through the first three rounds (judges scores: 30-27, 30-27, 29-28 for Mayweather), but in the fourth round, Ortiz found some success, landing a few shots and stinging Mayweather before bulling him into the corner. Then Ortiz rammed Mayweather in the face with an intentional headbutt, busting open a cut on the inside and outside of Mayweather's mouth. Referee, Joe Cortez, immediately called timeout and docked Ortiz a point for the blatant foul. Ortiz—seemingly acknowledging his wrongdoing—hugged Mayweather in the corner and even appeared to kiss him. Cortez motioned the fighters back together to resume the fight. But with Cortez looking away from the fighters, Mayweather unloaded a left hook and a flush right hand to Ortiz's face. Ortiz dropped and was unable to beat Cortez's count as the crowd of 14,687 were furious at the ruined fight.^[37]

"In the ring, you have to protect yourself at all times," Mayweather said. "After it happened, we touched gloves and we were back to fighting and then I threw the left hook and right hand after the break. You just gotta protect yourself at all times."^[38]

Joe Cortez commented post-fight, saying, "Time was in. The fighter needed to keep his guard up. Mayweather did nothing illegal."

Professional record[link]

29 Wins (22 knockouts, 7 decisions), 3 Losses (2 knockouts, 1 disqualification), 2 Draws[39]
Res.	Record	Opponent	Type	Rd., Time	Date	Location	Notes
N/A	N/A	Josesito Lopez	-	? (12)	06-23-2012	MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Loss	29-3-2	Floyd Mayweather Jr.	KO	4 (12), (2:59)	09-17-2011	MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada	Lost WBC Welterweight title.
Win	29-2-2	Andre Berto	UD	12	04-16-2011	Foxwoods Resort Casino, Mashantucket, Connecticut	Won WBC Welterweight title. The Ring magazine's "Fight of the Year" (2011)
Draw	28-2-2	Lamont Peterson	MD	10	12-11-2010	Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	28-2-1	Vivian Harris	KO	3 (10), (0:45)	09-18-2010	Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Win	27-2-1	Nate Campbell	UD	10	05-15-2010	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Win	26-2-1	Hector Alatorre	TKO	10 (10), (0:51)	02-25-2010	Club Nokia, Los Angeles, California
Win	25-2-1	Antonio Díaz	RTD	7 (10), (0:01)	12-12-2009	UIC Pavilion, Chicago, Illinois
Loss	24-2-1	Marcos Maidana	TKO	6 (12), (0:46)	07-27-2009	Staples Center, Los Angeles, California	For Interim WBA Light Welterweight title.
Win	24-1-1	Mike Arnaoutis	TKO	2 (12), (1:27)	04-07-2009	HP Pavilion, San Jose, California	Retained WBO NABO & won USBA Light Welterweight titles.
Win	23-1-1	Jeffrey Resto	TKO	2 (12), (1:19)	12-06-2008	MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada	Retained WBO NABO Light Welterweight title.
Win	22-1-1	Roberto Arrieta	TKO	5 (12), (2:25)	09-13-2008	MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada	Won vacant WBO NABO Light Welterweight title.
Win	21-1-1	Dario Esalas	KO	5 (10), (2:31)	05-05-2008	Home Depot Center, Carson, California
Win	20-1-1	Carlos Maussa	KO	1 (10), (1:47)	11-10-2007	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Win	19-1-1	Emmanuel Clottey	TKO	10 (10), (2:59)	08-30-2007	Grand Plaza Hotel, Houston, Texas
Win	18-1-1	Maximino Cuevas	KO	1 (10), (2:44)	07-29-2007	Cliff Castle Casino, Camp Verde, Arizona
Win	17-1-1	Tomas Barrientes	TKO	5 (8), (2:42)	04-14-2007	Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas
Draw	16-1-1	Marvin Cordova Jr.	TD	1 (8), (3:00)	01-19-2007	Dodge Arena, Phoenix, Arizona
Win	16–1	Yahir Aguiar	KO	2 (6), (1:32)	11-03-2006	Palo Duro Golf Club, Nogales, Arizona
Win	15–1	Alfred Kotey	UD	8	09-08-2006	Gilley's, Dallas, Texas
Win	14–1	Orlando Cantera	TKO	4 (8), (0:34)	06-23-2006	Palo Duro Golf Club, Nogales, Arizona
Win	13–1	Freddie Barrera	TKO	1 (8), (2:42)	04-31-2006	Activities Center, Maywood, California
Win	12–1	Nestor Rosas	KO	5 (8), (2:06)	02-10-2006	Roseland Ballroom, San Antonio, Texas
Win	11–1	Leroy Fountain	KO	4 (8), (1:27)	01-06-2006	Santa Ana Star Casino, Bernalillo, New Mexico
Win	10–1	Donnell Logan	TKO	2 (4), (2:10)	11-04-2005	Ventura Theatre, Ventura, California
Win	9–1	Kevin Carmody	UD	6	09-09-2005	Edgewater Hotel, Laughlin, Nevada
Win	8–1	Oliver Bolanos	UD	4	08-26-2005	Colonial Ballroom, Houston, Texas
Loss	7–1	Corey Alarcon	DQ	1 (6), (2:59)	06-03-2005	Performing Arts Center, Oxnard, California
Win	7–0	Rodney Jones	TKO	2 (4), (1:34)	04-05-2005	Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	6–0	Joel Ortega	TKO	1 (4), (1:32)	02-11-2005	Convention Center, San Diego, California
Win	5–0	Juan Patino	UD	4	11-26-2004	Plaza Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	4–0	Charles Hawkins	TKO	4 (4), (2:02)	10-08-2004	Edgewater Hotel & Casino, Laughlin, Nevada
Win	3–0	Lee De Leon	TKO	2(4), (2:35)	09-17-2004	Plaza Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	2–0	Alejandro Nungaray	UD	4	07-24-2004	Flamingo Hotel and Casino, Laughlin, Nevada
Win	1–0	Raul Montes	TKO	1 (4), (2:01)	06-04-2004	Plaza Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada	Ortiz's Professional Debut.

Titles in boxing[link]

Major World Titles:

• WBC Welterweight Champion (147 lbs)

Regional/International Titles:

• WBO NABO Light Welterweight Champion (140 lbs)
• USBA Light Welterweight Champion (140 lbs)

Boxing Style[link]

Ortiz is a right-hander who nevertheless chooses to fight from a southpaw stance. Ortiz has stated, "I’m naturally right-handed. Everything I do is right-handed. My power is just built on my left hand, somehow. Fighting left-handed was just more comfortable for me. I was just a better boxer that way. My defense was better, I didn’t get hit as much. I just developed myself into a left-hander. I don’t even like to switch to right-handed."

See also[link]

• List of left-handed boxers

References[link]

External links[link]

• Victor Ortiz Fight-by-Fight Career Record
• Victory: A Boxer's Story (Short Documentary Film about Victor Ortiz - 2005)
• Promoter page
• BoxingInsider.com interview with Vicious Victor Ortiz
• Victor Ortiz Audio Interview With Fans
• Victor Ortiz on Twitter
• Professional boxing record for Victor Ortiz from BoxRec

David Ortiz
Ortiz pointing to the sky after hitting a home run
Boston Red Sox – No. 34
Designated hitter / First baseman
Born: (1975-11-18) November 18, 1975 (age 36) Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Bats: Left	Throws: Left
MLB debut
September 24, 1997 for the Minnesota Twins
Career statistics (through June 1, 2012)
Batting average	.285
Home runs	391
Hits	1,823
Runs batted in	1,303
Teams
Minnesota Twins (1997–2002) Boston Red Sox (2003–present)
Career highlights and awards
The Sporting News Designated Hitter of the Decade (2009) Sports Illustrated MLB All-Decade Team (2009) 2× World Series champion (2004, 2007) ALCS MVP (2004) 7× All-Star (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011) 5× Silver Slugger Award (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2011) Hank Aaron Award (2005) 6× Edgar Martínez Award (2003–2007, 2011) AL home run leader (2006) AL RBI leader (2005, 2006) MLB record for home runs by DH (345) MLB record for RBI by DH (1,131) Home Run Derby winner (2010) Roberto Clemente Award (2011)

David Américo Ortiz Arias (born November 18, 1975), nicknamed "Big Papi", is a Dominican-American professional baseball player with the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball. Previously, Ortiz played with the Minnesota Twins from 1997 until 2002. Ortiz is a seven-time All-Star and holds the Red Sox single season record for home runs in a regular season with 54, set during the 2006 season. In 2005, Red Sox ownership presented him with a plaque proclaiming Ortiz "the greatest clutch-hitter in the history of the Boston Red Sox".^[1][2]

Early career[link]

Seattle Mariners and Minnesota Twins (1992–2002)[link]

Ortiz shares a word with Toby Hall, then of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Ortiz graduated from Estudia Espallat High School in the Dominican Republic and in 1992 he was signed by the Seattle Mariners who listed him as "David Arias". He played for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, a Mariners farm team, until 1996, when he was traded to the Minnesota Twins as the player to be named later in an earlier trade for Dave Hollins. When he arrived in Minnesota, he informed the team that he preferred to be listed as "David Ortiz."

He made his Twins debut in September 1997. For a few years, he was moved back and forth between the Twins and their minor league affiliate in Connecticut, the New Britain Rock Cats. The Twins advanced to the American League Championship Series that year, where they lost to the Anaheim Angels. Despite showing flashes of talent, Ortiz's time with the Twins will be remembered as a series of injuries and inconsistency both in the field and at the plate. Ortiz suffered wrist injuries in both 1998 and 2001. He continued to experience knee problems in early 2002 that plagued him throughout the season, despite hitting 32 doubles, 20 home runs and 75 RBIs in 125 games. He was released by the Twins after the season. In six seasons with the Twins, Ortiz hit 58 home runs and 238 RBI.^[3]

Boston Red Sox (2003–Present)[link]

2003[link]

On January 22, Ortiz signed a free agent contract with the Boston Red Sox. He played sparingly in the first two months of the season, primarily pinch hitting and starting occasionally as a DH. On June 1, manager Grady Little benched Jeremy Giambi and inserted Ortiz in the starting lineup as the full time DH. In July Ortiz hit 8 home runs, and in August he had 11. He finished the season batting .288 with 31 home runs and 101 RBI. He finished 5th in the American League MVP voting.

In the postseason he struggled in the ALDS against the Oakland A's until Game 4 when he hit a 2 run double in the bottom of the 8th inning off of closer Keith Foulke to give the Red Sox the lead. In the ALCS against the New York Yankees, Ortiz had 2 home runs and 6 RBI as Boston lost in 7 games.

2004[link]

Ortiz was a major force in leading the Red Sox to their first World Series title in 86 years and ending the Curse of the Bambino. During the regular season, Ortiz hit 41 home runs and had 139 RBI while batting .301 with an OPS of .983. He finished 2nd in the American League in both home runs and RBI. He was voted onto the All-Star team for the first time in his career. He finished 4th in American League MVP voting.

In the playoffs, Ortiz hit .409 with 5 home runs and 23 RBI. He had multiple game-winning hits to help Boston advance to and ultimately win the World Series. He hit a walk-off home run off of Jarrod Washburn to win the American League Division Series against the Angels. He then hit a walk-off home run against the New York Yankees in Game 4 of the ALCS and a walk-off single in Game 5 during the American League Championship Series. His post-season heroics earned him MVP honors for the ALCS, the first time a DH had ever been named MVP.

On May 28, Ortiz hit his 100th career home run, a grand slam, off of Joel Pineiro of the Seattle Mariners at Fenway Park.

Ortiz was suspended for 3 games after being ejected following an incident on July 16 in a game against the Angels in which he threw several bats onto the field that came close to hitting umpires Bill Hohn and Mark Carlson.

2005[link]

Ortiz hit 47 home runs and had 148 RBI while batting .300 with an OPS of 1.001. He led the American League in RBI finished 2nd in home runs and 3rd in OPS. He finished 2nd in the American League MVP voting while leading the Red Sox to their 3rd consecutive playoff appearance.

2006[link]

Ortiz hit 54 home runs (setting a new Red Sox record) and had 137 RBI, while batting .287 with an OPS of 1.049. He led the American League in both home runs and RBI, winning the home run crown by 10 over the 2nd-place finisher Jermaine Dye. He finished 3rd in the American League MVP voting.

On June 29, Ortiz hit his 200th career home run against Duaner Sanchez of the New York Mets at Fenway Park.

On September 20, Ortiz tied Jimmie Foxx's single season Red Sox home run record of 50 set in 1938; in the 6th inning against Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Boof Bonser.

On September 21, Ortiz broke Foxx's single season Red Sox home run record by hitting his 51st home run off his former teammate, Johan Santana of the Minnesota Twins. The home run came on a 1–0 pitch in the first inning and it was his 44th home run of the season as a designated hitter, breaking his own American League single-season record.

Health scare[link]

Ortiz said he began feeling ill between games of a day-night doubleheader on August 18, 2006, against New York. Between games, he had gone home and tried to sleep but could not. Ortiz was reportedly driven to the hospital by a team assistant. An irregular heartbeat was the cause for the stress according to his doctors. Ortiz would not originally talk about his condition, but opened up to the media on August 25, reportedly saying "I'm a healthy son of a [gun]."^[4]

On August 28, Ortiz had recurring symptoms from his irregular heartbeat and was a last minute scratch in the Red Sox game at Oakland. Manager Terry Francona and General Manager Theo Epstein agreed that Ortiz fly back to Boston where he was reevaluated and cleared to play again in early September.

2007[link]

Ortiz once again played a major role as he helped lead the Red Sox to their seventh World Series title. Despite playing the entire season with a torn meniscus in his right knee as well as nagging injuries to his shoulder and quadriceps, he finished the year hitting .332 with 35 home runs and 117 RBI. In addition, he hit 52 doubles, led the American League in extra base hits and had an OPS of 1.066.

In the postseason Ortiz batted .370 with 3 home runs and 10 RBI.

2008[link]

Ortiz started slowly after suffering a wrist injury which caused him to miss several weeks. He played in only 109 games and finished the season hitting .264 with just 23 home runs and 89 RBI, his lowest totals since joining the Red Sox.

Ortiz at bat in 2009

2009[link]

Ortiz struggled early in the season, hitting only .206 with no home runs and 30 strikeouts in his first 34 games. On May 22, Ortiz hit his first home run of the season off Brett Cecil of the Toronto Blue Jays, ending his career-high 178 homerless at-bat streak.^[5] In June, Ortiz broke out of his slump by hitting 8 home runs with 22 RBIs. Ortiz had 9 home runs in both July and August.

On July 9, Ortiz hit his 300th career home run against Luke Hochevar of the Kansas City Royals at Fenway Park.

On September 17, Ortiz hit his 270th career home run as a DH off of Jose Arredondo of the Los Angeles Angels breaking the all time record held by Frank Thomas.

Ortiz finished the season with 28 home runs and 99 RBI.

2010[link]

Ortiz hit .270 with 32 home runs and 102 RBI. He also won the Home Run Derby.

2011[link]

On April 2, Ortiz set the record for RBI by a designated hitter with 1,004 passing Edgar Martinez.

On May 21, Ortiz became only the fifth player to hit 300 home runs as a member of the Red Sox, joining Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, Jim Rice, and Dwight Evans.

On July 8, during a game against the Baltimore Orioles, three pitches were thrown inside close to Ortiz by Kevin Gregg. Ortiz took exception of the third ball that was close to him. Warnings were issued to both dugouts. When Ortiz popped out on the 3-0 count, Kevin Gregg taunted Ortiz and was ejected. Ortiz charged at Gregg and started a bench-clearing brawl. Both players were ejected for the incident and were each sentenced to a four game suspension.

Ortiz finished the season hitting .309 with 29 home runs and 96 RBI.

On October 20, Major League Baseball announced that Ortiz was the winner of the Roberto Clemente Award.

Performance-enhancing drug positive test result in 2003[link]

On July 30, 2009, The New York Times reported that Ortiz and then-teammate Manny Ramirez were among a group of roughly 100 major league players to test positive for performance-enhancing drugs during 2003 survey testing.^[6] Five months before the Times allegations surfaced, Ortiz stated in an interview that players who tested positive for steroids should be suspended for an entire season.^[6] Before the Red Sox's game that afternoon, Ortiz declined to comment on the report, saying, "I'm not talking about that anymore."^[6] Afterwards, he confirmed he had tested positive and promised to speak with the media once he "[got] to the bottom of" the matter.^[7]

Ten days later, Ortiz held a press conference before a game at Yankee Stadium and denied ever buying or using steroids but suggested the positive test might have been due to his use of supplements and vitamins at the time.^[8] When asked which supplements he had been taking, Ortiz said he did not know.^[9] Ortiz was accompanied at the press conference by the general counsel of the players union, Michael Weiner. Because the list of players who tested positive was seized as part of a government investigation and is currently under court-ordered seal pending the outcome of litigation, Weiner said the players union was unable to provide Ortiz with any details about his test result, including what substance he tested positive for.

Personal life[link]

Each time Ortiz crosses the plate after hitting a home run, he looks up and points both index fingers to the sky in tribute to his mother Angela Rosa Arias, who died in a car crash in January 2002 at the age of 46.^[10] Ortiz also has a tattoo of his mother on his biceps.

Ortiz and his wife Tiffany have three children. Since marrying Tiffany, he has become a fan of the Green Bay Packers (his wife hails from Kaukauna, Wisconsin, a town in between the cities of Green Bay and Appleton).^[11]

On June 11, 2008, Ortiz became a United States citizen at John F. Kennedy Library in Boston.^[12][13]

Reebok sponsorship[link]

In April 2007, sporting goods company Reebok debuted the Big Papi 10M Mid Baseball cleat at a party in Canton, Massachusetts, home to the headquarters of Reebok International Ltd. At the party, Ortiz was quoted as saying, "Reebok's loyalty and friendship have always made me feel right at home and we are true partners in every sense of the word,... ." Ortiz first used the cleat during the 2007 MLB All Star Game in San Francisco, California.^[14]

Charity work[link]

The David Ortiz Children's Fund was founded in 2007 to support a range of causes that Ortiz believes in. The Fund allows Ortiz the flexibility to donate to those children are in the most need at any given time, from Boston to the Dominican Republic and beyond. Ortiz released his own Charity Wine label in 2008 with all the proceeds going to the David Ortiz Children's Fund. The wine called Vintage Papi proceeded to raise $150,000 for charity.^[15]

Trademark fight with Jay-Z[link]

In April 2010, rapper and producer Jay-Z and his business partner Juan Perez initiated a trademark infringement case against Big Papi's night club 40/40 located in his native Dominican Republic. The suit claimed that Big Papi's night club name was chosen to take advantage of the fame of the record producers chain of sports clubs. The term 40/40 in baseball refers to the roughly 2 score ballplayers in the Major Leagues who have both 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in a single season.http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/gossip/2010/04/jayz-sures-red-sox-big-papi-david-ortiz-4040-club-name.html

Career highlights[link]

• The Sporting News Designated Hitter of the Decade (2009)
• Sports Illustrated MLB All-Decade Team (2009)
• Member of the 2004 Boston Red Sox team that won the World Series.
• Member of the 2007 Boston Red Sox team that won the World Series.
• American League Championship Series MVP (2004)
• 7-time All-Star (2004–2008, 2010–2011)
• 2005 Hank Aaron Award winner
• 6-time winner of the Edgar Martínez Award (2003–2007. 2011)
• 5-time winner of the Silver Slugger Award (2004–2007, 2011)
• Top 5 MVP vote-receiver five times (5th, 2003; 4th, 2004; 2nd, 2005; 3rd, 2006; 4th, 2007)
• Led the American League in extra base hits 3 times (2004, 2005, 2007)
• Led the American League in Home Runs (2006)
• Led the American League in Runs Batted In (2005, 2006)
• American League Player of the Month for September 2005, July 2006, and May 2010.
• Red Sox single-season home-run leader (54; 2006)
• Tied with Babe Ruth for AL single-season home-run record in road games (32; 2006)
• First player ever to hit two walk-off home runs in the same postseason (against the Angels (ALDS) and Yankees (ALCS), 2004)
• First player in Red Sox history to hit 40 or more home runs in three consecutive seasons (2004–2006)
• Set new record for home runs by a DH in 2005 (43), then again in 2006 (47)
• 6 seasons of at least 30 Home Runs and 100 RBI (2003–2007, 2010)
• Tied with Billy Hatcher for all-time post-season consecutive on-base streak (10)
• 85 extra-base hits or more for four consecutive years, something only 2 other players--Lou Gehrig (5) and Sammy Sosa (4)--have ever done.^[16]
• Ortiz's home run total increased each year from 2000–2006, starting with 10 home runs, and ending with 54.
• Became all time DH home run leader on September 15, 2009 by hitting his 270th as a Designated Hitter.
• Won 2010 Major League Baseball Home Run Derby in the final round against Hanley Ramirez.
• Has hit 10 career walk-off HR, the highest of any active player, and 20 walk-off hits total. He is currently 2 HR behind Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle, the career leaders in walk-off HR.^[17]
• On April 2, 2011 Ortiz became MLB's all time RBI leader by a Designated Hitter.
• On July 27, 2011 Ortiz hit his 1,000th RBI with the Boston Red Sox.
• 2011 Roberto Clemente Award winner.

See also[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: David Ortiz

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: David Ortiz

	Biography portal
	Baseball portal
	Dominican Republic portal

• 50 home run club
• List of top 300 Major League Baseball home run hitters
• List of Major League Baseball RBI champions
• List of Major League Baseball home run champions

References[link]

External links[link]

• David Ortiz's MLB.com site
• David Ortiz On ESPN.com
• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• Ten Questions for David Ortiz on Time.com (a division of Time Magazine)
• Stephan and Big Papi