Ryan O’Hearn’s job, most days, is to sit down on the bench and wait.
The Orioles’ first baseman will get the occasional begin in opposition to a right-handed beginning pitcher. But often his function is as a bench bat, a left-handed hitter at supervisor Brandon Hyde’s disposal to pinch hit in opposition to a right-handed reliever.
The function isn’t new for O’Hearn, who spent the previous few years in Kansas City as a bench bat for the Royals. It’s not the job O’Hearn desires, but it surely’s one he’s realized to simply accept — and even joke about.
“We were joking earlier about if I was gonna get a statue over there,” O’Hearn mentioned, recalling a dialog he had along with his former teammates earlier this week. “I said, ‘Yeah, maybe on that bench over there they could put a statue for me.’”
O’Hearn spent the primary 9 years of his skilled profession within the Royals group and many of the earlier 5 campaigns within the huge leagues. An eighth-round draft decide in 2014, O’Hearn arrived within the present in July 2018, hitting a two-run homer in his debut.
At first, the 6-foot-3, 220-pound first baseman was a near-everyday starter, however as he started to wrestle on the plate, his taking part in time dwindled. From 2020 to 2022, O’Hearn’s hardly ever had constant taking part in time, beginning sporadically versus right-handed pitchers and pinch-hitting.
“I have no regrets from my time in Kansas City,” O’Hearn mentioned. “Obviously, if you’re a storyteller, you’d probably draw it up a little bit differently.”
The 29-year-old is now in the identical function with the Orioles. It’s not an excellent job, however O’Hearn mentioned it’s what has allowed him to stay within the huge leagues.
“I had to buy into that role over the last few years,” he mentioned. “I think if I wouldn’t have bought into that role, I wouldn’t be on another major league team.”
The Orioles acquired O’Hearn from the Royals this offseason in alternate for money issues. They handed him by way of waivers and introduced him to spring coaching as a nonroster invitee, and he was considered one of a number of first basemen/left-handed hitters vying for a spot on the main league roster.
Despite a very good spring, O’Hearn opened the 12 months with Triple-A Norfolk. After he crushed minor league pitching for 2 weeks, as he all the time has, he was promoted to the Orioles in mid-April. He immediately made an impression, going 2-for-3 with three RBIs in his first sport in a one-run win over the Oakland Athletics. A day later, he entered late within the sport and roped an RBI double in an in depth triumph in opposition to the Chicago White Sox. He additionally had an RBI single in a two-run victory over the Detroit Tigers on Sunday. O’Hearn appeared in simply considered one of Baltimore’s three video games in opposition to the Royals this week. He began Wednesday, going 0-for-2 earlier than being eliminated for a pinch-hitter.
“He’s swung the bat extremely well for us in the role he’s been in,” Hyde mentioned.
But, simply as he skilled the previous three years in Kansas City, O’Hearn’s taking part in time has been sporadic. His efficiency — a .682 profession OPS and a .634 mark in 2023 — doesn’t drive Hyde’s hand to play him extra, and the dearth of on a regular basis plate appearances makes it even more durable to get right into a rhythm.
“It is difficult,” O’Hearn mentioned concerning the bench function. “I think, for me, it was trying to find a way to just play with a grateful spirit and just understanding that this is all an unbelievable opportunity to put on a major league uniform, show up at a baseball field and make a living doing that. If my job was to sit on the bench until the seventh inning and get a pinch hit in the eighth, then so be it. That’s what it is.”
Despite that mentality, it’s “human nature” for O’Hearn to consider the “what if” eventualities. What if he didn’t stoop in 2019 and hit .195 after he posted a powerful .950 OPS in 44 video games as a rookie in 2018? What if he was given constant taking part in time as an alternative of pinch-hit alternatives blended in with intermittent begins? Maybe, then, he may return to his outdated kind. At the identical time, although, O’Hearn tries to dam out these ideas as finest he can.
“What if didn’t happen,” O’Hearn mentioned. “Obviously, there’s a lot of points in my career in Kansas City when I was hoping and praying and wishing for more time. That’s not how it worked out.”
Four of his 9 video games this season have come as a pinch-hitter, and he’s acquired 4 plate appearances in a sport simply twice. To O’Hearn’s credit score, although, he’s coming off a season during which he was among the finest pinch-hitters within the sport. His 30 pinch-hit at-bats have been tied for probably the most, and his 11 pinch-hit base knocks have been greater than another participant. No participant in Royals historical past has extra pinch-hit homers than O’Hearn’s 4.
Hyde mentioned O’Hearn is a “professional” about his function with the Orioles this season, including his expertise as a bench bat is effective.
“Ryan’s been in that role before. It’s not easy for an everyday player that’s come up from the minor leagues to then kind of adjust to a part-time role or a platoon-type role,” Hyde mentioned. “And Ryan’s not even really that. Ryan’s more of a left-handed bat for us off the bench, give [first baseman Ryan Mountcastle] a day off or get a [designated hitter] spot against a right-handed pitcher. He’s prepared, he knows how to prepare, he knows how to stay ready.”
In his profession, O’Hearn has really fared higher as a pinch-hitter than he has as a standard batter. In 76 profession plate appearances as a pinch-hitter, O’Hearn has a .254/.342/.493 for a well-above common .835 OPS. Those numbers are 43% higher than his profession OPS of .682.
“I learned how to do the role,” O’Hearn mentioned. “I’d be lying if I said it was always easy. There were definitely down points and times when I would get frustrated. I tried my hardest not to show it. Just having that change of perspective is what’s kept me in this game this long, and I’m better for it and I’m not gonna change that anytime soon.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com