Checking in with former Orioles reliever Darren O’Day

Darren O’Day was one of the best relievers in Orioles history. From 2012-2018, O’Day appeared in 391 games, fifth most in team history. His sidearm throwing style, and being a part of some historically great bullpens made him a fan favorite.

O’Day was in Baltimore last weekend, broadcasting for the Atlanta Braves, and he’ll be there again this weekend to honor Chris Davis, who’ll be inducted into the Orioles’ Hall of Fame.

This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Question:  When you come back to broadcast games, does that bring back memories of the time you spent in Baltimore?

Darren O’Day: “Oh my gosh, yes, absolutely. I found myself often before, after even during games, just staring out on the field and thinking about good times. The most recent one, Sunday, kids ran the bases. I thought about my kids growing up as they ran the bases, I went back and looked at old videos.

“I saw some of the players throwing footballs around and kicking soccer balls. That used to be my favorite part of the day, running around the field, playing a different sport with my teammates, just having fun together before games and all the moments in the games.

“I was thinking about this past weekend was the 2014 playoffs, Delmon [Young’s] double. Just the echoes and the sound. That’s part of the reason I enjoy coming back is that I get reminded of a lot of those, those fun, memorable moments.”

Q: Usually, set-up relievers don’t have special cheers. Do you ever think about those?

O’Day: “I never really set out to do that. I certainly appreciated it. Seventh-, eighth-inning guys aren’t really a prime position on the team. They’re an important position amongst the team, but amongst fans, not as much. I was pretty good for a few years there, and the way I threw, I think the casual fan could tell when I was coming into pitch because of the way I was throwing with the sidearm delivery.

“They appreciated my work. That meant a lot to me. Part of it was that we were the first good Orioles team in a while, and I just think the fans were so hungry for winning baseball that they really took to us from top-to-bottom.”

Q: What made those teams special?

O’Day: “The baseball tradition in Baltimore is so rich. The team had been so bad for so long. They always had a few good hitters or a few good pitchers. They just couldn’t put it together. We were the first good team in a while and we were good for a sustained period of time.

“More importantly, it stemmed from the reputation of that team and how we won games. We’re the lower budget team battling the big giants in Boston and New York. We’re playing baseball, hard-nosed. We’re paying attention to details. We’re gonna do the little things right and do it on a more respectable budget, and we’re going to give you all you want. The blue-collar city of Baltimore really identified with that team’s personality.”

Q: You were part of great bullpens with Jim Johnson, Zack Britton, Brad Brach, Andrew Miller, Mychal Givens and T.J. McFarland. What was that like?

O’Day: “It was really enjoyable. We had a nice group in ’12. Everybody was castoffs from other teams, myself included. We kind of threw them in a pot and we were good, but those bullpens, ’13 through ’16, especially ’14, took it to another level.

“Somebody would appear every year and just become a huge part of what we did. Brad Brach came out of nowhere. Zack Britton was a struggling starter, turned into a dominant reliever. Andrew Miller just came out of nowhere. We didn’t think he would ever be on our team at the beginning of that season.

“We were a tight group. We hung out just about every night off the field. Our families were very close. There were some days where I would hang out with a couple of bullpen guys from about noon, then we’d go to the park, then we’d play the game, and then we’d hang out afterwards. I don’t think happens anymore.

“We fostered a really close, tight-knit group. I think that friendship and that desire to make one another better continued to make us perform even better because we knew we didn’t want our teammates to leave us behind in the dust.”

Q: You’re coming back to honor Chris Davis this weekend. He had some good years and some not very good years. What was it like in those good years?

O’Day: “I can firmly say that nobody had more fun playing baseball than Chris Davis, myself and a few of the other people we spent a lot of time with. We loved showing up every day and we also loved hanging out off the field and having a good time.

“One of my closest friends I’ve ever had in the game. The dismount from the Orioles was tough, but when he was right, he was the most feared power hitter in the league. Nobody could hit a down-and-away fastball, well-located fastball out of the park like Chris could. That’s just game-changing power because even if the pitcher executed his pitch down-and-away if Chris was looking for it, and he was on time, it was going to go.

“I think that what he provided was just that fear factor in the lineup for the opposing pitchers and the opposing manager that you always have to keep track of where he is and who in your bullpen and on your staff is the best guy to face him. He would change the opposing manager’s plans, and the rest of the lineup would benefit from that.

“I appreciated Chris as a first baseman, too. Once in a while he would let one get away, and that would hurt his defensive ratings, but he made some absolute miracle plays that other first baseman would never attempt, a really good throwing first baseman as well. So I appreciated everything Chris did on the field.”

Q: You watched the Orioles play three close games with the Braves. What do you think about today’s Orioles?

O’Day: “I see a lot of potential. I was really impressed with the starting pitching. I know the bullpen’s not at full speed right now. Young players can put too much pressure on themselves. It seemed like some of the guys were really pressing in the box in tight situations.

“I used to tell young relievers in those tight spots, ‘If you can control your emotions on the mound you already have an advantage because if this hitter doesn’t do the same, he’s working at 50 percent of his skill level. You stay calm, you’re working at 100 percent. He’s working at half speed because he’s trying too hard. He’s gripping the bat too tight. He’s thinking way too much at the plate. You have the advantage. Just watching the three games, three very close games, I thought there was some of that.”

Call for questions: I answer Orioles questions most weekdays. Please send yours to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com