Timothy Shawn Fortugno (born He was Timothy Shawn Santos on April 11, 1962 in Clinton, MA) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher and scout, working for the New York Mets as of November 2015. Signed by the Seattle Mariners as an amateur free agent in 1986, Tim would make his major league debut at the age of 30 with the California Angels on July 20, 1992, and appear in his final game on July 26, 1995. His last year in professional baseball was in 1998. He played until he was 36 years old, ultimately, then venturing into scouting. He played for the Angels, Reds and White Sox during his MLB tenure.

In 1989, Tim was pitching for $500 a month for the Reno Silver Sox, just hoping someone would notice him. After a start against the Milwaukee Brewers' team in Stockton, the Brewers noticed. The Brewers offered Patton $2,500 to buy Tim's contract. Patton kept saying he was worth more than that and he insisted he had to get more. Finally the Brewers relented. They gave Patton the $2,500, but they threw in 12 dozen baseballs.

Primarily a relief pitcher during his professional career (1986–1997), his first major league win came in his second start. On July 25, 1992, Fortugno surprised the baseball world by hurling a three-hit shutout against the Detroit Tigers, striking out 12.

Tim's career totals include 76 games pitched (5 starts), 110.1 innings, a 3-4 record with one save, and an ERA of 5.06. He was the pitcher who yielded the 3,000th hit of future Hall of Fame member George Brett on September 30, 1992. Shortly after giving up the hit, he picked Brett off at first base.

Fortugno's story is much more complicated than his career stats night indicate, and include run-ins with drugs and the law, the time he walked off to live in the woods or the two years from 18-20 when he thought he'd left baseball behind for good, as he worked in a restaurant and in construction to try to support his young family. Read his full story on Bleacher Report.

(excerpted from Bleacher Report, Baseball Almanac, BR Bullpen & Wikipedia)