Michael O?Connor doesn?t come with the same expectations or hype surrounding fellow Mount St. Joseph alumni Mark Teixeira or Gavin Floyd.
But, like Teixeira and Floyd, two highly-drafted players for the Texas Rangers and Philadelphia Phillies, respectively, O?Connor is experiencing success on the major league level this year. A left-handed pitcher for the Washington Nationals, O?Connor is 2-1 with a 2.86 ERA in four starts since being recalled from Triple-A New Orleans last month.
O?Connor, who expected to start the year at Double-A Harrisburg, earned his first major league win May 2 when he gave up a run on two hits, struck out seven and walked two as the Nationals defeated the New York Mets, 6-2. He is slated to start Friday for the host Nationals, against the Orioles.
“Reaching the major leagues happened so fast that I haven?t had a chance to take it in yet,” said O?Connor, 26, a seventh-round selection out of George Washington University in 2002 by the then-Montreal Expos. “The game is the same at every level, but here, hitters will make you pay for a mistake over the middle of the plate. That?s something you can get away with in the minors.”
Mount St. Joseph baseball coach Dave Norton said he knew O?Connor had the ability to pitch in the majors one day, although he did not expect to see it happen this year.
“The scenario on how he got to the majors surprised me, especially since he was pegged for Harrisburg this year,” Norton said. “He doesn?t have the flash of players like (Teixeira) and (Floyd), but he knows how to pitch out of jams. Even though he?s a major leaguer now, Michael has the type of personality that you would never be able to pick him out of a crowd.”
O?Connor said he expects a number of friends, family members and former teammates to be in the stands Friday at RFK Stadium when he faces the Orioles, his hometown team and one which he has followed since moving to Maryland in 1987.
“I?ve always followed the Orioles, even after the Expos drafted me,” O?Connor said. “It will be a little weird facing them. But, I?m a National now.”
MOUNT ST. JOSEPH ALUMNI
» O?Connor pitched into the sixth inning and gave up three runs on six hits and earned a no-decision in his last start Saturday as the Washington Nationals lost to the Atlanta Braves, 8-5. He faced Atlanta?s Brian Jordan, a graduate of Millford Mill, who grounded out to third in his first at bat against O?Connor.
» The Nationals named O?Connor their minor league pitcher of the year in 2005 after he went 10-11 with a 3.54 ERA in Class-A Potomac.
» Teixeira was batting .287 with four home runs and 22 RBI through Wednesday for the Rangers. Floyd was 4-2 with a 5.71 ERA with 22 strikeouts and 23 walks in 41 innings for the Phillies through the same period.
» Floyd and Teixeira are both from the town of Severna Park and were selected fourth and fifth overall, respectively, in the 2001 draft.
