Background
Ritz grew up in Bloomfield, Iowa.
Ritz grew up in Bloomfield, Iowa.
He is an alumnus of William Penn University and Indian Hills Community College. Ritz was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 4th round of the 1985 MLB amateur draft. He pitched for the Detroit Tigers (1989-1992) and the Colorado Rockies (1994–1998).
Ritz had his big break when he joined the Rockies in 1994, where he found some success in his career.
This came in the 1995 season. His best season was in 1996, when he went 17-11 in 213 innings pitched, despite recording a high European Research Area of 5.28 in hitter-friendly Coors Field and leading the National League in Earned Runs Allowed (125).
He was a member of the first Colorado Rockies team to reach the playoffs.