Mike O’Connor never envisioned playing pro baseball cross-town while pitching for George Washington University. After all, RFK Stadium was an empty barn save for United games.
But it has been a series of impossible dreams for the Washington Nationals pitcher over the last month. The Baltimore native is one of the few “feel good” stories of the downtrodden team that may lose 100 games this season. On a pitching staff whose ace, Livan Hernandez, is struggling and several other injured arms, an unlikely prospect with four seasons in Class A ball as a former reliever was the one with 100 friends and relatives in the stands for a recent start.
“It definitely happened a lot faster than I thought,” O’Connor said. “I was just hoping for Double-A this year. People just jump up real quick. It happens with a lot of guys.”
O’Connor is 2-1 this season in four starts that should have included another win over Atlanta on Saturday had the bullpen preserved his 5-3 lead. His 2.86 ERA is tops among Nats starters and nearly four runs better than Hernandez.
The southpaw knows how to work his offspeed stuff as he goes through the league for the first time. Maybe opponents don’t have enough to scout him, but O’Connor isn’t showing much vulnerability with a penchant for pitching well with runners on base.
The New York Mets only managed two hits in O’Connor’s first win on May 2 after he made his debut in a loss at St. Louis on April 27. Pittsburgh managed five hits in O’Connor’s second victory on May 7 and Atlanta just six on Saturday in the no-decision. O’Connor even managed his first hit, an RBI single against Atlanta.
It’s too early to say whether the Nats have gotten lucky. Give O’Connor a season before any decision is made. He knows the Nats front office is watching closely as the team’s pending sale has everything under review, especially a rookie pitcher.
“They’re always evaluating everybody,” he said. “It’s what I’ve been doing for the last five years so it’s not too different out there playing.”
O’Connor was a solid reliever for GW. He chose the Colonials over Maryland because GW’s chances were better to compete for a conference title. GW beat Richmond for the A-10championship during his final 2002 season, but few noticed. GW has long produced respectable teams, but only few recognizable major leaguers like John Flaherty and Sam Perlozzo.
O’Connor headed to Vermont to play low Class A ball for the Expos, who drafted him in the seventh round and 197th overall. The 4-2 mark with nine saves and a sterling 2.09 ERA prompted Montreal to consider O’Connor as a reliever. Who knew four years later O’Connor would be starting games at RFK?
“There wasn’t much talk of it,” said O’Connor of Montreal’s relocation to Washington. “I was drafted by the Expos and there was more talk of the team contracting than moving here [but] I’d play anywhere. It’s always nice to be at home.”
O’Connor needed four years to get through Class A ball. The first season in a rookie league was a respectable 2-3 with four saves. O’Connor was promoted to Class A Savannah where he was 8-3 with a 3.86 ERA. He was again bumped to a high Class A team in 2004 when playing for Brevard County in Florida. O’Connor became a starter and was 8-8 with a 4.11 ERA that looked even better with 104 strikeouts in 103 innings. The now Nationals decided to bring O’Connor closer to Washington by moving him to Potomac where he was 10-11 for the high Class A team with a whopping 158 strikeouts compared to just 48 walks in 144 innings.
Forget Class AA ball. The Nats sent O’Connor to Class AAA New Orleans this season where he posted a 2.41 ERA with no decisions in four starts. For a team whose staff seems more like one long injury, O’Connor’s emergence along with the resurgence of starter Tony Armas has given fans something to cheer.
And who knows, maybe it’s just the start.
Rick Snider has covered local sports for 28 years. Contact him at [email protected].
