Brian Moran knows he?s still a long way from fulfilling a lifelong dream of playing for the Orioles, but he has taken the first step.
“When one of the scouts for the Orioles looked at me and called me, ?a prospect,? it was very flattering,” he said. “It?s something I?ve never been called before.”
Moran was among the 102 players who participated in the Orioles? open tryout last week as Bachman Park in Glen Burnie. However, Moran was one of a approximately dozen players asked by scouts to conclude the sweltering hot afternoon by taking batting practice after each had excelled during throwing drills and the 60-yard dash.
“They had [former Orioles All-Star and current scout] Al Bumbry throwing batting practice and I was nervous,” said Moran. “But I hit 18 of 20 pitches and my best hit went all the way to the fence in left-center for what would have been at least a double.”
Moran, who starred at Chapelgate Christian Academy in Marriottsville, has developed into a very good center fielder at Grove City College (Pa.), a Division III school. As a junior, he hit .419 with 11 doubles, 6 triples, 4 home runs and 35 RBIs in 35 games.
“I?m a senior now and it could be the last season of my life,” he said. “But now the Orioles at least know who I am. I don?t know if I?ll get the chance to play in the major leagues, but at least it?s a start.”
