Ryan O’Hearn did not expect to be on the Orioles roster this season.
The 29-year-old first baseman was coming off of his fifth season with the Kansas City Royals, appearing in 342 games and batting .219/.293/.390 with the club during that time. O’Hearn and the Royals agreed to a 2023 contract last November, but he was designated for assignment in December to make room for Jordan Lyles.
After designating O’Hearn, the Royals traded the 6-foot-3, 220-pound first baseman to Baltimore for cash considerations. O’Hearn got a chance to compete for a roster spot in spring training.
“[I] came into spring training [and] loved every minute of it,” O’Hearn said on Glenn Clark Radio June 26. “Loved the atmosphere, loved the guys, and I couldn’t be happier to be an O.”
O’Hearn made his first appearance on the active roster two weeks into the season on April 13. He immediately made an impact that night against the Oakland Athletics, recording two hits and three RBIs in an 8-7 victory.
O’Hearn was sent back to Norfolk on May 5 after recording only a few starts in the following weeks. His stint with the Tides was quick, however, as he was brought back up a few days later, following an injury to Ramón Urías. Ryan Mountcastle’s bout with vertigo has since allowed O’Hearn to start at first base against right-handed pitchers.
O’Hearn has started in 29 games since the promotion, becoming a mainstay on the roster. He has hit .308/.357/.538 with 16 extra-base hits this year, a stark improvement from his performance in the previous five years with Kansas City.
O’Hearn credits the strides he has made to his work with the Orioles’ hitting coaches since joining the organization. He worked with the staff to improve his posture when landing during a swing, which in turn would allow him to reach pitches he hadn’t before. O’Hearn then had to work to ensure he did not fall back into bad habits.
“Almost immediately it was amazing how much easier I could get to certain pitches when I consistently landed with better posture,” O’Hearn said. “… I know that if I’m landing correctly, and I have some good rhythm and I land in a good spot, I’m going to be able to get certain pitches.”
The hitting work all came to a head on May 20 against the Blue Jays. Trailing 5-2 in the top of the eighth with two outs, O’Hearn went to bat against closer Jordan Romano. O’Hearn blasted a three-run bomb to right, tying the game at five. The Orioles eventually won 6-5 in extras.
“I think that’s one of my favorite home runs I’ve ever hit,” O’Hearn said. “I had been on the team for a while at that point, but I think that moment kind of solidified that like, ‘OK, this guy can help us.’ … We swept them that series, so that was a big moment in what ended up being a sweep over Toronto, which ended up being, in the scheme of things and that time of the season, just kind of solidified us on the up.”
The Orioles currently sit 51-35 and in second place in the AL East behind Tampa Bay (57-33). The club has gone through a rough stretch, losing six of their last nine, but looks to get out of it with their “loose” culture.
“It’s a very loose group, everybody wants to have fun,” O’Hearn said. “There’s always some kind of competition, some kind of game. It’s always a light-hearted, loose environment in the clubhouse. … It’s known that, ‘Hey, when it’s time to work, we get serious. We lock in, and we’re here to win.’ Like, we’re not just here to mess around. So it’s just such a good balance of intensity and fun at the same time.”
For more from O’Hearn, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Baltimore Orioles