Ryan O'Hearn didn't exactly experience immediate, sustained success upon making his major-league debut in 2018.
The Pirates' latest acquisition, one whose two-year, $29 million deal was made official prior to his introductory press conference on Thursday, has gone through plenty of ups and downs throughout the course of his eight-year career. But he's particularly evolved into a legitimate offensive threat over the last three seasons.
O'Hearn's first five years as a big-league player weren't at all ideal. He played in 342 games as a member of the Royals and compiled a .219/.293/.390 slash line with a .683 OPS and 83 OPS+ that accompanied his 38 home runs and 131 RBIs. He was worth -2.6 WAR, was traded to the Orioles in January 2023 and was even designated for assignment two days after the trade.
Despite the lack of success, O'Hearn took something from every hitting coach he's ever worked with. Then, things started to click when he began playing for Baltimore. In 2023, he hit .289, belted 14 home runs and drove in 60 runs over 112 games. That set the stage for a three-season stretch in which O'Hearn was a 5.6 WAR player. He slashed .277/.343/.445 with a .788 OPS, 122 OPS+, 46 home runs and 182 RBIs over 398 games with the Orioles and Padres.
"You know how it is in this game, when you're struggling you can just kind of feel defeated because it's every day," O'Hearn, an All-Star this past season, said Thursday. "But it's the same thing when you start to have success. You start to realize, 'Hey, I'm a guy.' I think that happened for me in 2023. Haven't stopped trying to get better, trying to work on things that I'm not good at, whether it be different shapes. Last year, I wanted to get better against left-handed pitchers. There's areas of my game I feel like I can still improve on. There's really not one thing. It's been an evolution I think."
O'Hearn didn't just evolve in terms of the physical aspect of the game. He also had to operate with the appropriate mindset in order to achieve the things he wanted to. He, more than anyone else, had to believe that he was capable of accomplishing bigger and better things.
“I don’t think it happens without belief," O'Hearn said. "Believing in myself is something that I was always good at. The same could be said for the team. For this team to go to the playoffs, we’ve got to believe that we can do it. That’s something that I’m going to be talking about from the minute we get to spring training: ‘Hey, we’re going to win. We’re going to go to the playoffs.’ Because if you don’t believe it, then nobody else will.”
THE ASYLUM
O'Hearn's offensive 'evolution' didn't happen overnight
Ryan O'Hearn didn't exactly experience immediate, sustained success upon making his major-league debut in 2018.
The Pirates' latest acquisition, one whose two-year, $29 million deal was made official prior to his introductory press conference on Thursday, has gone through plenty of ups and downs throughout the course of his eight-year career. But he's particularly evolved into a legitimate offensive threat over the last three seasons.
O'Hearn's first five years as a big-league player weren't at all ideal. He played in 342 games as a member of the Royals and compiled a .219/.293/.390 slash line with a .683 OPS and 83 OPS+ that accompanied his 38 home runs and 131 RBIs. He was worth -2.6 WAR, was traded to the Orioles in January 2023 and was even designated for assignment two days after the trade.
Despite the lack of success, O'Hearn took something from every hitting coach he's ever worked with. Then, things started to click when he began playing for Baltimore. In 2023, he hit .289, belted 14 home runs and drove in 60 runs over 112 games. That set the stage for a three-season stretch in which O'Hearn was a 5.6 WAR player. He slashed .277/.343/.445 with a .788 OPS, 122 OPS+, 46 home runs and 182 RBIs over 398 games with the Orioles and Padres.
"You know how it is in this game, when you're struggling you can just kind of feel defeated because it's every day," O'Hearn, an All-Star this past season, said Thursday. "But it's the same thing when you start to have success. You start to realize, 'Hey, I'm a guy.' I think that happened for me in 2023. Haven't stopped trying to get better, trying to work on things that I'm not good at, whether it be different shapes. Last year, I wanted to get better against left-handed pitchers. There's areas of my game I feel like I can still improve on. There's really not one thing. It's been an evolution I think."
O'Hearn didn't just evolve in terms of the physical aspect of the game. He also had to operate with the appropriate mindset in order to achieve the things he wanted to. He, more than anyone else, had to believe that he was capable of accomplishing bigger and better things.
“I don’t think it happens without belief," O'Hearn said. "Believing in myself is something that I was always good at. The same could be said for the team. For this team to go to the playoffs, we’ve got to believe that we can do it. That’s something that I’m going to be talking about from the minute we get to spring training: ‘Hey, we’re going to win. We’re going to go to the playoffs.’ Because if you don’t believe it, then nobody else will.”
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