O'Hearn talks leadership, perspective and how he hopes to unite the Pirates

TAMPA, Fla. -- A few days before pitchers and catchers reported to Pirate City back in February, Ryan O'Hearn received a relatively unexpected phone call from Pirates manager Don Kelly.

There was a chance the Pirates could sign Marcell Ozuna, Kelly explained. But if it happened, O’Hearn had to become a regular outfielder.

Would he be OK with that?

Although O’Hearn and Kelly talked for 45 minutes this offseason before the 32-year-old signed a two-year, $29 million contract, this chat was considerably shorter.

In so many words, O'Hearn told Kelly that he could’ve saved the time.

“I wanna be on a winner and part of a team that does something special,” O’Hearn said. “If you can add a guy like Ozuna, absolutely. Why wouldn’t we do that?”

The eagerness O’Hearn displayed underscores what he’s already meant as a leader. Someone who’s intense but jovial. An All-Star last season who traversed a difficult path to get to that point. A new father and growing leader on a Pirates club looking to take the next step in 2026.

The Pirates have needed a guy like O’Hearn.

And O’Hearn, who’s been designated for assignment twice and optioned to the Minor Leagues more times than he can count, has wanted a situation like this, where he’s entrusted with a sizable role both on and off the field.

O’Hearn and I sat down recently over coffee to discuss his journey, new dad life, how he hopes to bring this Pirates team closer and more. Here are the highlights.

Simple adjustment

O’Hearn has spent 733 Major League innings in the outfield, a small number compared to the 2,886 1/3 where he’s been at first base. At the same time, he’s never really been asked — or had the time — to do something like this.

In the past, defense at first has been the priority. Outfield work was treated as extra. This spring, the priorities have flipped for O’Hearn.

The adjustments haven’t been hard. It’s just been logistically having the time to do it.

“Just getting reads and reps,” O’Hearn said. “That’s literally all it is. It’s being a full-time outfielder instead of 20% of the time.”

‘Taught me a lot’

Due to his baseball journey, O’Hearn has learned to avoid overreactions, believing things can -- and often will -- change.

After a solid debut season in 2018, O’Hearn regressed in 2019, hitting just .195 and posting a .650 OPS in 105 games for the Royals. The next year (.195 and .604) wasn’t much better.

By 2021, O’Hearn was relegated to bench duty and spent 19 games in Triple-A, grinding through a four-season stretch from 2019-22 where O’Hearn was worth minus-3.4 wins above replacement (Baseball-Reference).

The impressive part about O’Hearn is that he never gave up and kept showing up. He stayed positive. He worked a bunch with Royals hitting coach John Mabry. He learned more about his swing. He perfected an approach.

Finally, in 2023, things clicked for O’Hearn in Baltimore. Two years later, Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino said half-jokingly that O’Hearn was “back from the dead.”

The process gave O’Hearn great perspective.

“I think it’s really helped me to zoom out,” O’Hearn said. “I think when you’re a young player and things go wrong, or they go right, you can react too much. It can be such an emotional rollercoaster.

“The more I zoom out, the more I realize it’s never as good or bad as it may seem in that moment. It’s just about staying level, being able to go home and forget about the game, then go do it again tomorrow.”

The journey from productive rookie to bench guy/Minor Leaguer has given O’Hearn unique perspective and an incredible appreciation for his job.

It’s genuine, too. You can’t help but enjoy being around the guy.

“When you get it taken away, you appreciate it that much more,” O’Hearn said. “You don’t take for granted every day you get to put on a Major League uniform, go out and play in front of fans on a Major League stage.

“It really is amazing what we get to do. What I’ve been through has helped me keep that in perspective.”

Home life

Another thing that has kept O’Hearn grounded is his life. He and his wife, Hannah, welcomed daughter Harper on Dec. 28. They’re all together in Sarasota.

Harper has grown especially curious about the world around her, and O'Hearn loves to do whatever he can to produce a smile.

“I’ll just walk her around the house and show her things,” O'Hearn said. “Then she’ll sort of study them. It’s really fun. … I’m explaining to her, ‘This is a book. This is the refrigerator.’ It’s amazing. I feel like she does something new every day.”

Over the past few years, with his baseball career more stable, O’Hearn has gotten more and more into golf, really trying to shave strokes and score. That hobby has also been put on hold for now.

O’Hearn has too much he’d rather do at home.

“I’ve talked golf with a lot of guys around here,” O’Hearn said. “Once we get some off-days on the road, I’m sure we’ll get out and play.”

‘Good teams are close’

The other day in the LECOM Park clubhouse, O’Hearn was reviewing some salsa moves -- and no, it didn’t involve chips. He’s also big into music and views it as a way to bring teams closer together.

In previous stops, O’Hearn played the part of team DJ, and it sounds like that role could be reprised in Pittsburgh.

O’Hearn’s goals are simple. The same as he conducts himself around the clubhouse, treating veterans and young guys the same, ditto for American and Latin players, there are no cliques.

Everyone deserves the same input and respect.

“It shouldn’t be that the Americans are listening to the speaker and the Latins have their headphones on in the back,” O’Hearn said. “That’s [crap]. Everybody should be involved.

“The way I see it, I get to be on a team with people who have all types of backgrounds. That’s cool for me. You have to treat everyone with love and respect. That’s huge. Teams should be close. Good teams are close.”