Junior Ortiz

[Al from SoDak]

Adalberto “Junior” Oritz Colón was born October 24, 1959, in Humacao, Puerto Rico. 

The Pittsburgh Pirates signed Junior Ortiz as an undrafted free agent on January 19, 1977. He made his Major League debut on September 20, 1982, as a defensive replacement in the 8th inning. His first hit came ten days later, on September 30, a single against future Hall of Famer and former Twin Jim Kaat of the Cardinals. That 1982 Pittsburgh team also included future Twin and future teammate Brian Harper. Ortiz was traded to the New York Mets in early 1983 but was reacquired by the Pirates in the 1984 Rule 5 Draft. He played the next five seasons for the Pirates, batting .267/.320/.332 in a mostly backup capacity, first to future five-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove winner Tony Peña, and later to another Gold Glover, Mike Lavalliere. (Peña and Lavalliere were traded for each other just prior to the 1987 season, with Andy Van Slyke also going to Pittsburgh with Lavalliere). 

The Minnesota Twins acquired Junior Ortiz in an April 1990 trade that sent Mike Pomeranz (yes, the former KARE news anchor) to Pittsburgh after Tim Laudner abruptly left the team near the end of spring training to ponder his future. Oritz was considered a good defensive catcher with a decent arm who could replace Laudner. Unproven Lenny Webster was sent to the minor leagues for depth. Greg Olson had left the Twins and signed as a free agent with the Braves and was not an option. And Orlando Mercado and his abysmally bad -16 OPS+ from 1989 was not an option. Ortiz was acquired as an experienced Major League backup to incumbent Brian Harper.

Fortunately for the Twins, Junior Ortiz had the best season in 1990. He was even used as a Designated Hitter three times. “Best” is a term I use loosely. While his .335 batting average and .384 on-base percentage were good, his .388 slugging percentage was less than ideal. His OPS+ was above average at 112, but he hit zero home runs and had only 18 RBI. His 1991 season was not as good; he batted .209/.293/.261. His OPS+ was just 52. Once again, he had no home runs. His RBI total decreased to 11. 

Junior’s best game for the Twins probably came on June 18, 1990, against Texas. Ortiz had four hits and three RBI against Bobby Witt and the Rangers Bullpen in an 8-6 loss. This was during an astounding 18-game stretch for Ortiz when he hit .482/.517/.554. 

Ortiz was a positive bench player. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported on February 23, 1991, that Ortiz saw the potential of the 1991 team, saying, “We’re just so much better than people think. I think we are going to win this thing. I mean the whole thing. You’ll see.” Wow. What a prognosticator!

Junior Ortiz played in six games in the 1991 playoffs and World Series. He was the starting catcher in each game started by pitcher Scott Erickson. (At some point, he became Scott Erickson’s personal catcher. He caught 28 of Erickson’s 32 starts that season.) Ortiz got eight at-bats in the American League Championship Series and World Series with one hit, a single in the sixth inning of Game Three of the World Series, a loss. He had an RBI groundout in the Game Five blowout loss. He also came in three times as a defensive replacement. His defense was perfect in both series – no errors, no stolen bases allowed, no passed balls. 

A reader requested more stories about goofballs and characters who have played for the Minnesota Twins. Junior Ortiz was one of the first to come to mind, probably because of the Junior/Joe mystery. This occurred in mid-August 1991. He felt he was struggling more than normal with the bat (although the game logs don’t show a huge drop-off at that time), so Junior decided to become a new person, “Joe.” Below are snippets I found about that conundrum, all from the Minneapolis Star Tribune. 

• On August 12, Ortiz shaved his beard and said he was changing his name from Junior to Joe because he was hitting so poorly (under .240). He said, “Plus, with no beard, I have better bat speed and can move better. I look better, too, huh?”
• More from the Star Tribune on August 14, Oritz said, “Since I changed my name to Joe, we’re 2-0. I miss Junior, even though he was a jerk. He was a nice guy with a bad attitude. I think Joe’s a nice guy and doesn’t stutter as much.” Junior was a stutterer. “The only thing I’m worried about is how Erickson will like Joe catching him.”
• August 15, Ortiz said, “It was something I had to do. It was up to me to get things turned around and ensure we win the pennant. This could do it.” While shaving his beard, Ortiz left the mustache because “Don’t worry about the mustache. I look so good now. If I do that, I’ll just look like any other ugly person.” 
• August 16, "I was struggling, I was hitting so bad, I said, 'I'm going to change everything,'" Ortiz recounted. "So, I shaved my beard and changed my name to Joe. It didn't work. I was still terrible." 
• On August 21, it was reported that Ortiz changed his name back and got two hits in his first game back as Junior. He also scored two runs, walked, and picked off a runner at first base. That was apparently the end of the Joe experiment.

Whatever he did, the Twins, of course, did win the World Series that season. Was it Ortiz’s spring training prediction, his change to Joe, or was it something else?

After playing for the Twins, Ortiz finished his career with two seasons in Cleveland and one in Texas. He was traded in December 1994, during the baseball strike, to the White Sox. The strike was not resolved when the 1995 season was scheduled to begin, and the owners agreed to try replacement players. Ortiz, whose time in baseball was winding down, agreed to be a replacement player. However, when the situation was resolved in early April, Ortiz was sent to the minor leagues and never returned to play Major League Baseball (Blackballed or just not good enough?). His career numbers were .256/.305/.305, five home runs, 186 runs batted in, and an OPS+ of 70. His career bWAR was actually negative, -0.3. 

Junior Ortiz was a complementary and fun ballplayer. He was not great but good enough to be on a championship team. Based on what I have read of him, he seems like an optimistic team player, a little goofy but someone who would be good in the clubhouse and a likable teammate. Baseball has always had a few goofballs, and I, for one, would like to see more players like Junior Ortiz. 

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