POSTSEASON PLAY: CALL IT A RUSS JOB GIANTS' ORTIZ HAS DONE THIS PLAYOFF THING BEFORE.Byline: Kevin Modesti Staff Writer Russ Ortiz Russell Reid Ortiz (born June 5, 1974 in Encino, California), is a Major League baseball pitcher for the San Francisco Giants. Before returning to the Giants, Ortiz had previously played for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Baltimore Orioles and the Atlanta Braves. makes his playoff debut today when he pitches for the San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California that currently play in the National League West Division. New York Giants history Early days and the John McGraw era against the New York Mets
Ortiz thinks it's important to be specific. The Encino native is a young man of 26 but an old hand at postseason pressure Postseason pressure is a psychological effect on many sports players in which they are very nervous, hyped up or getting anxiety attacks when entering the postseason. This is more common in younger, less experienced players who have never seen playoffs. . He faced it - and stared it into submission - for the first time when he led Montclair Prep of Van Nuys to consecutive Southern Section 1-A championships in 1990-91. He hopes to draw on that experience when he climbs the mound at Shea Stadium • • [ . ``At that time, pitching the two semifinal games was the biggest thing I'd ever done,'' Ortiz said at Dodger Stadium • • [ late in his third Giants season. ``I think the emotions are the same - the nervousness and all.'' After his Montclair Prep days, Ortiz felt those emotions again when, as a closer, he led Oklahoma to the 1994 College World Series title. ``In high school we went to the playoffs, and that was the coolest thing ever. Then in college we went to the playoffs and that was the coolest thing ever,'' he said. ``Now I can actually say this is the coolest thing ever - to be on a very good team and know we're going to the playoffs.'' What's new for Ortiz this time is the lesson that it's more fun to pitch for a pennant contender than to earn personal glory pitching for an also-ran. The 6-foot-1, 210-pound right-hander was one of the revelations of the 1999 season, his first full season in the majors and his second after being moved out of the bullpen. He went 18-9 with a 3.81 ERA despite leading the National League in walks with 125. This year he started slowly, struggling to a 5-10 record by the end of July, before winning seven in a row and being named NL Pitcher of the Month The Pitcher of the Month award is a Major League Baseball award named by each league for each month of the regular season. The National League started recognizing the award in 1975. The American League followed in 1979. for August (ERA: 0.96). ``It hasn't been as good a season as last year. But I'm not going to say this is a bad season. We're going to the playoffs,'' Ortiz said. ``I'm happy I was able to throw a lot better in the second half when we caught up and went ahead (of the Arizona Diamondbacks This article is about the baseball team. For other uses, see Diamondback. The Arizona Diamondbacks (also referred to as the D-backs) are a Major League Baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They play in the West Division of the National League. in the NL West standings). ``Having good numbers obviously is nice. But I'd rather be on a winning team.'' The number the Giants wanted him to improve in 2000 was that walk total. And he did, cutting it down to 112. Along the way, though, he walked 21 batters in his first five starts, seven in a loss to the Chicago Cubs and six on three other occasions. This year the walks seemed to turn into runs more often than they had before. Ortiz lost the command that had allowed him to induce double-play ground balls at all the right times. ``I don't think it was anything mechanical,'' said Giants catcher Bobby Estalella Bobby Estalella can refer to:
Ortiz: ``I wasn't challenging guys to swing the bat. I have four pitches, but I wasn't able to use all four because I was behind (in the count). I was thinking about my mechanics, about getting extended - am I being too quick, too slow? But that was too many things to think about at once. As soon as I stopped thinking about it, things started clicking.'' Even during the winning streak Noun 1. winning streak - a streak of wins streak, run - an unbroken series of events; "had a streak of bad luck"; "Nicklaus had a run of birdies" , he averaged 3 1/2 walks. ``I'm a power pitcher. I'm going to walk guys,'' said Ortiz, whose fastball is clocked in the low to mid 90s. ``If they're going to say my biggest problem is that I walk people, then the light at the end of the tunnel looks pretty good.'' Ortiz and his wife, Stacy Scoggins, live in Arizona. His family is still in Van Nuys and Burbank. His mother, Terri, is a civilian employee of the Los Angeles Police Department "LAPD" and "L.A.P.D." redirect here. For other uses, see LAPD (disambiguation).  This article or section is written like an . .
New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , and Game 3 of a tied series, is a long way from where he started. Then again, it's the playoffs, and he's been there before. ``I think I'll get to the parking lot earlier. I think I'll be pretty excited,'' Ortiz said. ``To me, that's fun. I know it's serious business, but there's nothing I'd rather be doing.'' RUSS ORTIZ AT A GLANCE Year W-L ERA IP H ER HR BB SO 1998 4-4 4.99 88 1/3 90 49 11 46 75 1999 18-93.81 207 2/3 189 88 24 125* 164 2000 14-12 5.01 195 1/3 192 109 28 112 167 Career 36-25 4.51 491 471 246 63 283 406 *- Led National League CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: Pressure playoff baseball is nothing new to Giants' pitcher Russ Ortiz, who played for the Montclair Prep of Van Nuys Southern Section championship teams in 1990-91. Associated Press Box: RUSS ORTIZ AT A GLANCE (See text) |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion