Call to the pen
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Baltimore Orioles: Conner Greene, from living out of an RV to MLB mound

By Eric Treuden

NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 05: Conner Greene #81 of the Baltimore Orioles in action against the New York Yankees during a game at Yankee Stadium on September 5, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 05: Conner Greene #81 of the Baltimore Orioles in action against the New York Yankees during a game at Yankee Stadium on September 5, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /
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PHILADELPHIA, PA – SEPTEMBER 21: Conner Greene #81 of the Baltimore Orioles throws a pitch in the bottom of the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on September 21, 2021 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA – SEPTEMBER 21: Conner Greene #81 of the Baltimore Orioles throws a pitch in the bottom of the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on September 21, 2021 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

Baltimore Orioles

With his living situation becoming a little bit clearer, Greene began to train at a local gym in the Malibu area with a whole slew of Major League Baseball players including Joe Ryan, Andrew Lambo, Hunter Greene, Tyler Heineman, Scott Heineman and, perhaps most notably, Ryan Braun, who was staying in game shape before announcing his retirement from the game later in the year.

After electing minor-league free agency at the conclusion of the lost 2020 season, Greene was officially on the market and optimistic about his chances of finding a job for the upcoming 2021 season. After training tirelessly and believing that his time was coming, Mike Snyder, the Director of Pro Scouting for the Baltimore Orioles called and told Greene that he had a real shot at making the big league team and that the Orioles would like to bring him aboard on a minor-league contract with an invite to major league camp.

Through grit, belief, conviction, confidence and faith, Greene rode a solid 2.00 Spring Training ERA in nine innings to put himself firmly on the Orioles’ radar. While he didn’t make the big league club out of camp, he spent the first portion of his 2021 season at the Triple-A Norfolk. While his numbers did not look all that great on the surface, he finally received the call to the bigs on July 24.

After calling every member of his family and friend circle, Greene made his big league debut three days later against the Miami Marlins and struck out Magneuris Sierra and Sandy Leon, pitching two innings of two-hit, one run ball while regularly hitting nearly triple-digits on his fastball. “I hit (Starling) Marte with a fastball which wasn’t that great”, he laughs, “But to have my dad and my best friend and his family there in person to see me strikeout my first major league batter on three straight pitches, that’s what it was all about right there.”

Through three games with the Orioles, Greene’s ERA had ballooned to 14.73 after two consecutive poor outings after his debut. Suddenly, he found himself on waivers once again. “You want to win the (bleeping) championship with your boys. Being called into the manager’s office is never a good feeling. Getting DFA’d sucks”, said Greene. “It comes back to the grit of grinding your way through life. I was thankful to Mike Elias and the Orioles for taking a chance on me, but I knew there was a light at the end of the tunnel for me and was looking forward to the next opportunity”. The light at the end of this tunnel came in the form of the injury-riddled Los Angeles Dodgers.

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