Former Hidden Valley High School baseball pitcher Mikey O’Brien returned to the Roanoke Valley Thursday night in his first local appearance after eight years in professional baseball.
The former Titan right-hander who played under then-Hidden Valley head coach Jason Taylor, made headlines in 2008 when he passed on a college scholarship offer from Winthrop to turn pro.
O’Brien, who started his baseball career in the Cave Spring American Little League, was drafted after his senior year at Hidden Valley in the 9th round by the New York Yankees.
At the time, O’Brien said he had never been to a major league game, and didn’t intend to until he took to the mound at Yankee Stadium. In his senior year at Hidden Valkey, O’Brien made headlines after discovering he had diabetes, valiantly taking on the disease head-on.
O’Brien worked his way up in the Yankee organization, including stints in the Gulf Coast League and Staten Island, before the Cincinnati Reds selected him in the Rule 5 draft at the end of 2013. He spent last year with the Reds organization before being signed as a free agent by the Baltimore Orioles last November. Since becoming an Oriole farmhand, O’Brien has made appearances at Double-A Bowie, before being moved to the Frederick Keys High-A Carolina League Oriole team as a starter.
Thursday night, O’Brien took to the mound as Frederick and the Salem Red Sox squared off at Salem Memorial Stadium to begin the second half of the split-season Carolina League schedule.
O’Brien’s return to the Roanoke Valley in front of many of his fans who came out to Lewis Gale Field, didn’t go without some hitches.
O’Brien gave up 5 runs in the first two innings, and his rough start lasted just 4 innings as he ended up ceding 5 runs, with only 1 earned, on six hits with three strikeouts and three base on balls. O’Brien was tagged with the loss in the eventual 6-3 Salem win.
Bill Turner
