Bill Ortega
Bill Ortega | |
---|---|
Pinch hitter | |
Born: Havana, Cuba | July 24, 1975|
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
MLB debut | |
September 7, 2001, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
Last MLB appearance | |
September 28, 2001, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
MLB statistics | |
Batting average | .200 |
At bats | 5 |
Hits | 1 |
Teams | |
|
William Ortega Bobadilla (born July 24, 1975) is a Cuban former professional baseball player who played in five games for the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2001 season, all as a pinch hitter. He batted and threw right-handed.
In Cuba, Ortega watched Major League Baseball games on videotapes which had been smuggled out of Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. Before defecting, he played for Industriales in the Cuban National Series. Ortega defected from Cuba during an international baseball tournament in Mexico in November 1996, leaving a wife and two-year-old son behind in Cuba. He was signed by the Cardinals in 1997 after a tryout.[1]
Ortega was an outfielder in the minor leagues. In his five major league pinch-hitting appearances, Ortega had one hit in five at-bats.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Parks, Brad (August 31, 1997). "FIRST SEASON ISN'T EASY FOR CUBAN DEFECTORS". Washington Post. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
External links
[edit]- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
- 1975 births
- Living people
- St. Louis Cardinals players
- Nettuno Baseball Club players
- Major League Baseball players from Cuba
- Cuban expatriate baseball players in the United States
- Industriales de La Habana players
- Arkansas Travelers players
- Expatriate baseball players in Italy
- Memphis Redbirds players
- Peoria Chiefs players
- Potomac Cannons players
- Prince William Cannons players
- Cuban expatriate sportspeople in Italy
- Defecting Cuban baseball players
- Baseball players from Havana
- Cuban baseball biography stubs