Sadly Ryan O’Hearn in tears after he was forced and asked to leave the team immediately…….
SARASOTA, Fla. — Spring Training is the time that lays the groundwork for MLB’s surprise stories during the upcoming season. Quite a few standout players will emerge from seemingly nowhere, something that has happened quite frequently in Orioles camp in recent years.
For example, Ryan O’Hearn.
There were a handful of backup first base/corner outfield type of players battling for a spot on Baltimore’s roster last spring. None of them broke camp with the big league team. Not even O’Hearn, who raked during Grapefruit League action before getting sent to Triple-A Norfolk to open the 2023 campaign.
By season’s end, O’Hearn had logged a career-high 112 big league games, posted an .802 OPS and even made 57 starts as the O’s cleanup hitter.
“Sitting here this time last year, I wasn’t expecting Ryan O’Hearn to do what he did for us,” manager Brandon Hyde said.
Ryan O’Hearn’s solo homer (13)
Sep 15, 2023 · 0:16
Ryan O’Hearn’s solIt was the best first year in a new organization imaginable for O’Hearn, who was traded by the Royals in exchange for cash considerations in a transaction that garnered little attention when it occurred Jan. 3, 2023.
O’Hearn couldn’t dream up a better way for his time in Baltimore to begin. Little could beat being a key contributor in the heart of the order for a team that won 101 games and captured the American League East title.
“It exceeded any expectation or any hope I could have ever had,” the 30-year-old O’Hearn said. “Everyone here is awesome — coaches, the people who work in this building, obviously my teammates. I enjoy coming to work every day, showing up here and in Baltimore as well.
“It’s just a blast, man. I can’t explain it. I feel very blessed to have landed here, and especially at this time, when the team is so O’Hearn played 342 games over five seasons for Kansas City from 2018-22, but he could never stick in the Majors. He showed power potential early (12 homers in 44 games in ‘18, then 14 across 105 games in ‘19), but he finished his Royals tenure with a .219/.293/.390 slash line.
The untapped potential was there, though. Orioles co-hitting coach Matt Borgschulte said as much last spring, when he recalled watching O’Hearn from an opposing Minor League dugout during Borgschulte’s stint as the hitting coach for Triple-A St. Paul in 2021.good.”o homer (13)
