After a hot mic in the Orioles’ dugout picked up Ryan O’Hearn saying a vulgar phrase to his teammates on the YES Network’s broadcast of their series opener against the New York Yankees on Monday, the first baseman issued an apology to the young fans watching.
“There’s a hot mic in the dugout there, and obviously, we’re fired up and say some things that we don’t want kids to hear,” O’Hearn said after the game. “I just want to say sorry for that. Big win for the boys. We’ve been grinding, so to get that hit there, get some momentum, put us up like that, a lot of emotion, and, obviously very happy with how it turned out today.”
O’Hearn hit a three-run home run to help Baltimore open up a four-run lead against the Yankees in the third inning of their eventual 4-3 victory. After rounding the bases, he returned to the dugout to drink from the team’s “hydration station” — a beverage consumption contraption the team has used to celebrate home runs over the past two seasons.
With a YES Network camera filming, O’Hearn gulped down some water from one of the hoses and said, “suck my f—— b—-” as he walked back to the bench. The video was immediately picked up and spread on social media, and it was viewed more than half a million times before the game ended.
The home run proved to be the deciding play in the Orioles’ win, which ended a three-game losing streak amid a disappointing 11-17 start for Baltimore. Manager Brandon Hyde said the blast prompted an “exhale in the dugout after what we’ve been through lately.”
O’Hearn, 31, has been one of the few bright spots in the Orioles’ lineup, hitting .303 with a .909 OPS in 20 games heading into Monday’s contest. The veteran infielder is among the team’s clubhouse leaders and a frequent voice of reason, preaching patience and confidence when the Orioles are going through difficult stretches.
With the win, the Orioles put themselves in position to clinch just their second series victory of the season against the team leading their American League East.
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