Kevin Ritz wants to be part of the celebration if Ubaldo Jimenez gets his 18th win and breaks the Rockies’ record for victories in a season.
He also wants Rockies management to bring in Pedro Astacio for the party. Jeff Francis already will be there.
That particular group shares the record of 17 victories. Ritz was the first, in 1996. Astacio followed three years later and Francis in 2007.
“We might have to take him out to dinner,” Ritz said of Jimenez last week from Ritz’s home in Cambridge, Ohio. “What he’s doing is unthinkable. I’ve been keeping my eye on him and what’s happening. It’s pretty amazing, isn’t it? It’s so far-fetched, we can’t believe it’s happening. It’s crazy.”
When Ritz pitched for the Rockies, Coors Field was considered a chamber of horrors for pitchers. Coors Field’s humidor hadn’t even been thought of and most pitchers wanted nothing to do with playing for the Rockies at Denver’s mile- high elevation.
When the National League franchise was awarded to Denver, Los Angeles Dodgers ace Orel Hershiser, who had pitched at elevation in Albuquerque in the minors, said any pitcher for the Rockies that won the league’s ERA title would be his hero for life.
Stand up, Jimenez. He leads the majors this year with 11 wins and a 0.93 ERA. Ritz called Jimenez’s ERA “unthinkable in itself.”
During his big season, Ritz didn’t dwell on the altitude. He had come to the Rockies from the Detroit Tigers in the expansion draft for Colorado and the Florida Marlins. He missed the 1993 season because of Tommy John surgery on his right elbow.
“I wasn’t the greatest pitcher, but if you had confidence in yourself, anybody could pitch there,” said Ritz, who was 39-38 with a 5.20 ERA with the Rockies from 1994-98. “I never had the attitude that I couldn’t pitch there because of the altitude. I don’t know if the humidor has helped. I had nothing to lose. My career was on the last leg when I came over from Detroit.”
Ritz turned 31 during the 1996 season, when he set franchise records for victories, starts (35) and innings (213). On May 5, he threw the first complete game by a Rockies pitcher at Coors Field, beating the Marlins 5-4. By the end of June, Ritz had nine victories and there was hope the Rockies might have their first pitcher in the All-Star Game. It didn’t happen.
“I couldn’t be too disappointed about the All-Star Game, especially where I had come from in my career,” Ritz said. “At least I was mentioned.”
Before coming to the Rockies, Ritz pitched in 50 games for the Tigers, going 6-18. He was 5-6 in 1994 and 11-11 in 1995 for the Rockies.
“Back then, people thought the Rockies should have a 20-game winner because we scored a lot of runs,” said Ritz, a right-hander. “My ERA was pretty high (5.28 in 1996, when he was 17-11), but we scored 10 runs a game.”
Ritz said he’s a “stay at home dad” and very interested in the sports careers of his sons and daughters, but he well remembers his big season.
“I think my success was because I had a fastball that sank a little bit and my catcher, Joe Girardi,” Ritz said. “He put the numbers down and I threw the ball to his target. I had a great time in Denver. That season kind of put me on the map.”
Ritz was the opening day starter for the Rockies in 1997, but finished the season at 6-8. Shoulder soreness signaled he was near the end of his career. But he added one more feat. On June 5, he stole home against San Diego, the first pitcher to do so since Rick Sutcliffe in 1988.
Ritz awaits the day when the Rockies’ record for victories in a season no longer is 17.
“Jimenez might double it,” Ritz said. “It’ll be nice to see at least 20. I’ll bet it’s going to be more like 25 or 30.”
If Jimenez reaches 20 victories, a lot of former Rockies pitchers will raise their arms and shake their heads yes.
Ritz bio
Born: June, 8, 1965, in Bloomfield, Iowa
High school: Davis County in Bloomfield
College: Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa, Iowa
Family: Wife, Sally; daughters, Molly and Lilly; sons, Kyle and Eli
Hobby: Golf, his dream is to play in the U.S. Open
