From the CCL to The Show with Ryan O’Hearn

by Micah Rodriguez

On July 7, Ryan O'Hearn cemented his name in MLB history. Facing the Atlanta Braves, O'Hearn went 3-for-4 with three home runs and set a Pirates franchise record with 10 RBIs. O'Hearn became just the 18th player in big league history to record double-digit RBIs in a single game. It was a historic day for a man who considered walking away from the game just a few years prior.

But years prior, O'Hearn's career almost unraveled. After exploding onto the scene in his MLB debut, O'Hearn then struggled to establish himself as an everyday player, was optioned and designated for assignment, and wondered if his MLB career had slipped away. 

Baseball had consumed O'Hearn. His performance on the field started to affect what mattered the most to him off the field: his family and faith. Something needed to change, and it needed to change quickly. 

But long before baseball became a burden, it was simply fun. 

Fourteen years earlier, way before O'Hearn's professional career started, he was a Santa Barbara Forester. 

After dominating the Texas high school baseball circuit, hitting .505 with 15 home runs and earning a spot on Baseball America's second-team High School All-American team. He committed to stay close to home, enrolling at Sam Houston State University for his freshman campaign. 

After a strong freshman season where he played nearly every day and hit .304, O'Hearn's head coach, David Pierce, told him he was heading West. 

The coaching staff worked to find homes for players in the summer; many of O'Hearn's teammates were assigned to play in Texas or Kansas collegiate leagues. 

"When [Coach Pierce] told me I was going to Santa Barbara, I was really excited," O'Hearn said. "I was like, 'No way.' And I didn't know what I was getting myself into. It ended up being like the best summer of my life."

O'Hearn played under longtime Forester Head Coach Bill Pintard – who is in the midst of his thirty-second year with the organization this summer. Pintard embraced O'Hearn and helped him feel at home, even if he was over a thousand miles away.

"When I got to Santa Barbara, I was wound pretty tight as a player," O'Hearn continued. "I was hard on myself when it came to making outs and messing up and failing. And Pintard, in his way, just made it fun. And I think at that point in my baseball journey I really needed that. I needed to go somewhere where [I thought] this is fun, this is a blast. Playing the game is fun."

That summer, O'Hearn and company were crowned National Baseball Congress champions in Wichita, Kansas. He hit .278 and led the Foresters in doubles.

Upon returning to Sam Houston in the fall, O'Hearn assured Pierce he knew where he wanted to play this upcoming summer. Despite knowing he had played well enough to potentially play in the Cape Cod League, O'Hearn was adamant about his decision.  

"The first thing I said to [Pierce] was, 'Hey, I want to go back,'" O'Hearn said.

In his sophomore season at Sam Houston, O'Hearn had another impressive showing. The left-hander hit .262 with seven doubles and four triples in 52 starts. At season's end, O'Hearn packed his things and headed back to Santa Barbara. 

When he arrived back in California for his second summer, he became even more fond of the environment Pintard had handcrafted over the better part of two decades. 

"[Pintard] created such an atmosphere with all the guys that made it fun," O'Hearn said. "It's amazing because now I've been in the big leagues for a while, and I see Foresters all over the place. [Pintard] helped us understand our purpose is a little bigger than just baseball. More than just helping me develop as a player, he helped me develop as a person."

To this day, the two remain in close contact, whether it is advice or friendly banter.

"Pintard is a mentor of mine, and I consider him a really good friend," O'Hearn continued. "We talk weekly at this point, and I haven't played for him in 13 years. But I still talk to him all the time. I love that guy to death."

Looking back, O'Hearn was also grateful for the perspective he gained playing in the California Collegiate League.

"[I learned] to take it one day at a time and enjoy it," O'Hearn said. "Enjoy getting to play the game of baseball, enjoy summer ball, enjoy college, don't worry too far ahead about what's going to happen in the future."

In his junior season at Sam Houston, O'Hearn broke out. In 61 starts, he hit .292 with 11 doubles and eight home runs. He was selected by the Royals in the eighth round with the 243rd overall pick. 

In place of spending his summer with the Foresters, O'Hearn signed and joined the Idaho Falls Chukars. In his first taste of professional action, he raked, slashing .361/.444/.590 en route to being named Pioneer League MVP. 

The following year, in 2015, O'Hearn opened the season with the Lexington Legends – the Royals Single-A affiliate – and earned a promotion at the midway point of the season to the Single-A Advanced Wilmington Blue Rocks, where he finished the summer. 

In 2016, he split time between the Blue Rocks and the Double-A Northwest Arkansas Naturals before being called up to Triple-A in 2017. In 2017, he hit a combined .253 with 22 home runs and 64 RBIs. 

The travel schedule in the minor leagues was absurd; his sleep schedule was unhealthy, but O'Hearn performed well at every stop.

"My first year in Triple-A, travel was absolutely ridiculous," he said. "We'd play a night game on Friday and then go to the airport at 2 a.m., middle seat because I'm a young guy. Connection somewhere, and finally get to the next city at like 10 a.m. with no sleep. Sleep for two hours, go to the park, play again."

Despite the long days turned to nights, O'Hearn had a strong start in Triple-A during the 2018 season. For his efforts, O'Hearn was called up to the big league club and inserted into the starting lineup on July 31, 2018.

In his second career at-bat, he deposited a 1–0 curveball from White Sox's starter James Shields into the bleachers at Guaranteed Rate Field to give the Royals a 2–0 lead. With his two-run blast, O'Hearn became the fourth player in franchise history to leave the yard in their first career game. 

O'Hearn finished out the rest of the 2018 season with the Royals impressively. He hit .262 with a .950 OPS and 12 home runs. 

However, after making the Opening Day roster in 2019, O'Hearn struggled for the first time at the professional level, hitting .195 in 328 at-bats.

From 2020 to 2022, the path did not get easier. He was optioned, designated for assignment, hit below the Mendoza line, and tested positive for COVID-19.

"There was a point in my career where I had some really tough years," O'Hearn said. "[I] gave my heart and soul to something, and [I] failed at it over and over again, but somehow [I was] still in it. Like I'm still in the big leagues. I'm still going up and down, but no matter what, I can't break through. I think at one point, it started to affect my wife and relationships outside the game a little bit."

Burdened by his performance on the diamond, taking things one day at a time – as he had learned to do so well with the Foresters – seemed impossible. 

So what changed for O'Hearn? 

On the field, hitting the ball hard was never the problem. O'Hearn cut down his chase rate and eliminated some swing-and-miss. In addition, his walk rate increased, and he struck out less.

But, beyond his changes on the field, the biggest differences came away from the game.

In 2018, he succeeded and felt like he was on top of the world. 2019 was a rude awakening. 2020 was out of the ordinary with COVID-19, and in 2021 and 2022, he became an afterthought.

"It felt like my chance to be an everyday major leaguer had pretty much gone out the window," he said. "I was in this limbo, play once a week, sit the bench, pinch hit. I would say that I was a Christian, but a lot of my identity was wrapped up into the game of baseball, and that was probably an idol for me at that point. It's hard to go home and separate your mind from, 'Hey, I'm probably the worst player in Major League Baseball right now,' to, 'I'm going to go home and be this great fiancé.'"

His current wife, fiancée at the time, sat him down for a difficult conversation.

"She let me have it," O'Hearn continued. "She was like, 'You're not fun to be around anymore. I don't even know you.' She hit me with the truth after she'd been dealing with it for some time. That was an awakening for me."

From that moment on, O'Hearn realized two things.

"I don't want to look back at my career and A, I was miserable, and B, I didn't treat my wife very well while I was in the major leagues," he said. 

His perspective changed.

"It really strengthened my faith to once and for all officially be like, 'God, if you take this game from me tomorrow, I'm okay with it.' You can say that all you want, but until you truly believe it, you don't have the freedom to go out there and ultimately be better at the game."

On Jan. 3, 2023, O'Hearn was traded to the Baltimore Orioles. Two days later, he was designated for assignment and sent outright to Triple-A Norfolk Tides. 

Equipped with a new mindset regarding his career, O'Hearn hit .354 in 48 at-bats with Norfolk before having his contract selected on April 13.

O'Hearn didn't arrive in Baltimore with large expectations. He was acquired for cash considerations and was mainly expected to contribute as a platoon bat against right-handed pitching. Despite that, O'Hearn forced his way into the everyday lineup, hitting .289 with 14 home runs and a .801 OPS. 

In 2024, he continued to be a reliable presence in the middle of the Orioles order. He finished the year hitting .264 with 15 home runs and 59 RBIs. 

The following season, O'Hearn had his best big league season to date. He hit .281 with an .803 OPS and was named an All-Star for the first time in his career. He was the National League's starting designated hitter. Shortly after the All-Star break, O'Hearn was traded to the contending San Diego Padres. 

And now in 2026, after signing with the Pirates in the offseason, O'Hearn made history. 

"It brings me back to faith," O'Hearn said. "Honestly, there was a point in my career where I was like, 'If I could just hit .240, and not have this embarrassing number on the scoreboard, then everything would be alright.'"

O'Hearn is hitting .288 through 82 games with an .838 OPS in his first campaign with the Pirates. He's added 13 doubles and 16 home runs. 

"I got to a point where I was ready to give it up and just say, 'God, if this isn't going to be my journey for the next however many years, thank you for what it's been,'" O'Hearn continued. "It goes to show that nowhere in my mind did I ever think I was going to break a record for Pirates RBIs in a game. I never thought I was going to have any equipment going to Cooperstown."

His game-used helmet was sent to the Baseball Hall of Fame and his bat was placed in PNC Park's Legacy Hall. 

His response to the biggest game of his career said everything about how much his outlook changed.

"Yeah, I had a 10 RBI game," he continued. "I got all these accolades and all this attention for it, and like, that's great, but also, it's not fulfilling.  It doesn't feel like, 'Oh, I've made it, I'm good now.' It's just a really cool thing that happened to me."

In late 2025, O'Hearn and his wife welcomed their first child. 

"I'm in a completely different headspace now than when I was struggling," O'Hearn continued. "I got a baby. My wife is the most important person in my life. I have people that I have to take care of." 

From memorable summers with the Foresters to being unsure if he still had a career ahead of him in between the chalked lines, O'Hearn's journey has been anything but steady.

"I think to say that there's been ups and downs in my career is a bit of an understatement," O'Hearn said. "I've been designated a few times, optioned a million times. I've really, really struggled. I've been the last guy on the roster."

But O'Hearn is still here.

"I've survived in other ways," he said. "I'll be 33 in a couple of weeks, and I get to continue to play baseball every day. Taking those ups and downs and zooming out to realize it's not the end of the world. You just have to keep cooking, keep going, keep getting better, [and] keep learning. If you handle things well, and you treat people well no matter what's going on in your career, ultimately, you'll get rewarded in this game, and that's certainly happened to me over the last few years."

It might not have been the MLB career he had in mind during his summer ball days in Santa Barbara, but he wouldn't have it any other way.

"It goes to show that God is greater than any plans you could ever have in your life," O'Hearn continued. "My faith is still number one in my life, and my family, and other things outside of baseball. But it's helped me appreciate how my plans really mean nothing, and that's how I want it to be. I wouldn't want it any different."