Rookie right-hander Luis Ortiz didn’t make much of a first impression when he joined the Orioles during last season’s September roster expansion. He was overweight and out of shape and manager Buck Showalter did not hide his displeasure.
Ortiz made two rocky appearances at the big league level that didn’t change anybody’s opinion and went home over the winter with a mandate for personal change.
“As a kid growing up, going through what I went through coming up through the minors, I only heard what I wanted to hear,’’ Ortiz said.