Kirt Ojala

{{Infobox baseball biography

|name=Kirt Ojala

|position=Pitcher

|image=

|bats=Left

|throws=Left

|birth_date={{Birth date and age|1968|12|24}}

|birth_place=Kalamazoo, Michigan, U.S.

|debutleague = MLB

|debutdate=August 18

|debutyear=1997

|debutteam=Florida Marlins

|finalleague = MLB

|finaldate=May 4

|finalyear=1999

|finalteam=Florida Marlins

|statleague = MLB

|stat1label=Win–loss record

|stat1value=3–10

|stat2label=Earned run average

|stat2value=4.71

|stat3label=Strikeouts

|stat3value=99

|teams=

Florida Marlins ({{mlby|1997}}–{{mlby|1999}})

|highlights=

}}

Kirt Stanley Ojala (born December 24, 1968) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) left-handed pitcher who played for the Florida Marlins from 1997 to 1999, and is remembered for being the pitcher who gave up the 400th career home run to Barry Bonds.

Amateur career

Ojala was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and graduated from Portage Central High School and the University of Michigan. In 1989, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League.{{cite web|author= |url=http://capecodbaseball.org.ismmedia.com/ISM3/std-content/repos/Top/2012website/archives/Current%20Year/All_Time_MLB_CCBL_Alumni.pdf |title=Major League Baseball Players From the Cape Cod League |publisher=capecodbaseball.org |date= |accessdate=September 25, 2019}} He was selected by the New York Yankees in the 4th round of the 1990 MLB Draft.

Professional career

A knuckleball specialist, Ojala pitched mostly in long relief, although he made 5 starts for the Marlins in 1997 after being called up from the minor league Charlotte Knights,[https://web.archive.org/web/20120729130132/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1997-08-18/news/9708170185_1_kirt-ojala-ed-vosberg-youth-and-experience O'Brien, David. "Eight-year Wait Ends For Ojala"], Sun Sentinel, Monday, Aug. 18, 1997. Accessed 7/5/2010.] and 13 the following year. On August 23, 1998, he gave up a solo home run to Bonds in the top of the third inning in Pro Player Stadium, giving Bonds 400 homers for his career.[https://www.nytimes.com/1998/08/24/sports/national-league-roundup-milestone-for-bonds.html "NATIONAL LEAGUE ROUNDUP; Milestone For Bonds"], nytimes.com, Sunday, Aug. 24, 1998. Accessed 7/5/2010

On September 16, 1998, Ojala became one of only 50 major league pitchers to strike out four batters in a single inning.[http://www.baseball-almanac.com/feats/feats19.shtml "4 Strikeouts in 1 inning", baseball-almanac.com. Accessed 7/5/2010.] He spent time in the Cincinnati Reds organization prior to the Marlins. Following his release by Florida, he briefly was a member of the Boston Red Sox. He finished with a career record of 3 wins and 10 losses and a career batting average of .121.