Notes on Hardy, Norris and Mora

Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy has moved his workouts to Triple-A Norfolk, where he's expected to take batting practice and ground balls this afternoon. However, team officials confirmed that Hardy won't begin his injury rehab assignment.

Hardy has been hitting on the field at Double-A Bowie and going through a series of workouts. The Orioles won't clear him for games until he's able to get full extension on his swing without any traces of discomfort in his left shoulder.

The Orioles placed Hardy on the disabled list April 5 after an MRI arthrogram revealed a muscle strain in his non-throwing shoulder. He worked out at Tropicana Field during the opening series, putting him ahead of schedule, but he remains inactive and isn't starting a rehab assignment.

Hardy drove to Norfolk and arrived yesterday.

Bud Norris, who takes the mound for the Orioles tonight to open a three-game series against the Blue Jays, is 9-2 with a 3.66 ERA in 16 starts against the American League East since the beginning of 2014. The Orioles have gone 14-2 in those games.

Norris' .818 winning percentage against division opponents is the best in the majors among pitchers with a minimum of 10 starts in that span.

Former third baseman Melvin Mora, to be inducted later this summer in the Orioles Hall of Fame, spoke to reporters on a conference call this afternoon.

Mora said found out about his selection from Bill Stetka, Orioles alumni director, while driving his kids to practice.

"I didn't know what to say because I was just nervous," said Mora, who will be inducted on Aug. 14 along with outfielders Gary Roenicke and John Lowenstein and longtime scout Fred Uhlman Sr.

"That day that Mr. Bill Stetka called me, I was in shock. I was just excited. I was like, 'OK, this is a dream come true.'"

Mora played with the Orioles from 2000-09, compiling a .280 average and 158 home runs. His 808 games played at third base are second only to Brooks Robinson on the club's all-time list.

It's easily forgotten, since it occurred during the Orioles' prolonged stretch of futility, that Mora batted .340/.419/ .562 with 41 doubles, 27 home runs and 104 RBIs in 140 games in 2004.

"I think I was motivated by Terry Crowley a lot," said Mora, referencing the former Orioles hitting coach. "Terry Crowley, he told me in spring training that he wrote in an email that Melvin Mora could hit .340. And I was like, 'You are joking around.' About halfway into the season, I was like, 'Do you really have that email?' So I think that was a great season but I give credit to Terry Crowley a lot. He believed in what I could do with my bat and so 2004 was one of my best years.

Mora joins a Hall of Fame cast that includes former teammates Cal Ripken Jr., Brady Anderson and Mike Mussina, among others.

"The first time I got to the Orioles from New York, one of the first guys I met was Cal Ripken Jr.," Mora said. 'I said, 'I'm going to play with that guy in Baltimore?' And the other guys, like B.J. Surhoff, Brady Anderson, those guys that I had been watching for a long time in an Orioles uniform.

"To be part of the Hall of Fame with Cal and all those guys that we were able to play together, I know the tremendous numbers that Cal Ripken did in Baltimore. So for me to be part of the Hall of Fame with the Orioles, anybody would want to be into the Hall of Fame with big legends like Cal Ripken, Jr. and all the players that played with the Baltimore Orioles for many years. So I'm excited. I'm just excited just to be named and to be in the Oriole Hall of Fame."

Mora still lives in Harford County and follows the team. He's glad to see the Orioles winning again and making the playoffs two out of the past three seasons, but it's also bittersweet.

"This is still my home," he said. "Most people say they see me around the Maryland area. They know I stay here because I love the Orioles. This is the team that gave me an opportunity to play. This is a team that gave me an opportunity to improve myself. And this is the team that was with me for many teams.

"The one thing sometimes is I feel bad that I'm not a part of the Orioles right now. When I was there I was always dreaming of (winning). To see the Orioles players today jumping back and forth to the field and they know they're playing for something, that is something that's neat."

Mora also expressed his gratitude to the fans who supported him and how honored he felt to play the same position as Ripken and Robinson, adding that it was "hard" trying to fill those spikes.

"Without the fans in Baltimore, I don't think I could have done it," he said. "They helped me a lot in my career and they supported me all those years in Baltimore."