The Wisdom of the Ages! Orioles Veteran Shares Infinite Wisdom with Teammates in…
The Baltimore Orioles were one of several teams that entered the offseason in need of pitching help.
That was even before their ace, Corbin Burnes, agreed to a six-year, $210 million deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks in free agency.
Without him in the mix, the team was in desperate need of some help for their rotation. To the chagrin of many, they didn’t go to the top of the free agent market to fill the void or complete a trade.
They opted to sign complementary depth pieces, hoping that would be enough to overcome their lack of a traditional ace.
One of the players they will be counting on to fill the void created by Burnes’s departure is Charlie Morton.
Entering his 18th MLB season at 41 years old, there will be some pressure on the veteran to perform at a high level.
He is currently penciled in as the team’s No. 3 starter behind Grayson Rodriguez and Zach Eflin. It is certainly a risk relying on him to fill that sizable role, but he brings a lot to the table beyond just on-field production.
As experienced as any player in the game currently, he is a wealth of knowledge for teammates to take advantage of.
Known to be soft-spoken and humble, Morton has a unique approach to how he shares his leadership and there are plenty of people who are ready to absorb what he has to share.
“I enjoy creating relationships with people. I don’t necessarily think about myself as a veteran guy that needs to be something specific, other than available and trying to create meaningful, trusting relationships so people will talk to me,” Morton said, via Jack Rill of MLB.com.
“Because I think that’s how we learn from each other. It’s not going to do me any good — and it’s not going to do anybody good — to sit there and lecture somebody. The meaningful impacts that you have with people are based off of something a little bit deeper.”
One of the teammates he has had an impact on is Eflin, as the two are reuniting with the Orioles after being together with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2016.
That was a tough year for both players, dealing with injuries. Despite not getting the chance to play often, Eflin is appreciative of the “infinite wisdom” Morton shared with him during his rookie campaign.
“I didn’t necessarily know how to go about [injuries], and he really helped guide me through that,” said Eflin. “Knowing Charlie, he probably didn’t think he helped me too much. But he helped me a lot, and it kind of shaped the way I thought about how I went about my knee injuries and the steps after that.”
Morton could very well have a similar impact again in 2025 as he works with some of the younger Baltimore pitchers, such as Chayce McDermott and Cade Povich.
Early in their careers, they have a chance to learn from the well-traveled veteran in the same way that Eflin did nine years ago, and he is more than happy to lend a helping hand.
