Ryan O'Hearn, trying to avoid being "one-hit wonder" has specific plans to improve

SARASOTA, Fla. – Ryan O’Hearn is proof that it’s not all about making the Opening Day roster. He didn’t last year but he went on to become a key Oriole, one that would hit in the middle of the club’s batting order.

This after producing a .683 OPS in parts of five seasons with Kansas City.

The O’s acquired him for cash considerations on Jan. 3, 2023, later removed him from the 40-man roster and later got him back on it as he reached the majors with the Birds last April 13. In early May he briefly returned to Triple-A, but soon was back for good.

Over 368 plate appearances, he hit .289/.322/.480/.801 with 14 homers and 60 RBIs. Now, at age 30, he is determined to prove he can do that, or even better, again.

“I’m sure there are people out there saying, ‘He’s a one-hit wonder or a flash in the pan’ type of thing. You know, I’m eager to prove that is not true. But at the same time, I don’t want to give too much attention or focus to naysayers. I believe in myself and my swing. A season like last year can only build your confidence and I have great teammates around me. Just want to win. I’ve got plenty of motivation,” he said recently in the O’s clubhouse at Ed Smith Stadium.

“Last year was great for me personally. I was excited the Orioles wanted to bring me back. I thoroughly enjoyed being part of this organization and get to run it back with these guys after what we did last year. Hopefully go farther and reach our potential as a team. Grateful the O’s brought me back and I'm ready to do it again.”

So, after finally getting a team to give him regular playing time and rewarding that team’s confidence with a strong year, what did he do this winter to get better?

“You forget about it,” he said with a laugh. “You go back into offseason mode and get better mode. Try to get in great shape. And I continue to work on things with my swing. Put in that work.”

While he expects pitchers to have new attack plans to get him out this year, he saw a lot of those plans last season too.

“I saw them, it kind of goes in waves. You start hitting one pitch and they throw another pitch. It’s the cat and mouse game that is part of being a player in the majors. Try to get myself in the best position to cover different kinds of pitches and speeds. And really just take advantage of mistakes. When the pitcher makes a mistake, if you don’t miss it, that is how you put up great numbers,” O’Hearn said.

O’Hearn proved to be a clutch hitter for the 2023 Orioles. He had an .891 OPS hitting with runners in scoring position, an .837 OPS in one-run games, .950 in close and late situations and an OPS of .800 in AL East games.

But there is an area on the stat sheet he is zoned in on this spring.

“One emphasis for me, I’d like to walk more,” he said. “If I’m swinging earlier in the count, I’d like it to be for damage. I don’t want to make early-count outs. I’d like to see more pitches and work more walks.

“What it really comes down to is what you do in 3-2 counts. Just looking at the analytics and swing rates, that is one area I can improve is pitch selection in full counts. Definitely an emphasis for me this spring.”

And while the MLB average OPS on a 3-2 count was .779 last season, O’Hearn was just 7-for-45 with 22 strikeouts in such spots.

He hit .156/.231/.289/.520 on the 3-2 pitch while by comparison he went 6-for-10 on a 3-1 count with an OPS of 1.888.

“The worst possible result of an at-bat in my opinion is a strikeout looking. It just feels the worst. So maybe subconsciously in a full count, trying to guard against that, I would foul off pitches that would have been a walk and then make contact and get out. It’s something I’ve been looking at and thinking of ways to improve in that count,” he said.  

No game today: The three saddest words in baseball - no game today.

The Orioles have a rare spring training off day today. They will take an 11-2 record into their game Friday night at home with Detroit at 6:05 p.m.

The Birds beat Pittsburgh 6-4 last night on Coby Mayo's two-run double in the last of the eighth. In his second game of the spring, Gunnar Henderson went 3-for-3 with a double and Anthony Santander added a two-run homer. Starter Julio Teheran pitched two scoreless innings. Dillon Tate and Mike Baumann both looked strong again in scoreless frames.