Orioles Have High Hopes for Jewish Pitcher

The Orioles have made a number of interesting moves involving their bullpen this season. It’s almost like a constantly spinning carousel, sending pitchers to Baltimore and Triple-A Norfolk and back.

One of the players who seems to have been able to stay in Baltimore for the past three weeks is Richard Bleier, a Jewish pitcher from Davie, Fla.

Bleier had bounced around the minor leagues since 2008 with Texas, Toronto, Washington and the Yankees before finally breaking through to the big leagues last year and pitching well with New York.

He went 0-0 but posted a 1.96 ERA in 23 games for the Yankees in 2016, and the Orioles acquired him Feb. 21 for a player to be named or cash. Bleier eventually got called up to the team in May.

Bleier, 30, had one appearance with the Orioles before being sent back to Norfolk and then being called back to Baltimore May 14, and the results have been good.

Through last Sunday’s loss to Boston, Bleier had a 1-1 record with a 2.35 ERA in 11 games. Bleier has pitched effectively in most of his appearances and said in a recent interview with Jmore that he feels like he is settling in with the team.

“It’s just time, in general,” Bleier said. “Every day, I get a little bit more comfortable in the situation and stuff like that and just try to go forward and help the team.”

He also has seen the way the Orioles are simply using the Triple-A Norfolk team to rotate pitchers back and forth and keep their bullpen as fresh as possible. Bleier said he’s been through that a few times himself and likes staying with the big club

The left-hander literally takes everything day by day. He has pitched 249 games in the minor leagues over parts of 10 seasons and understands the deal.

“It’s just been so crazy and up and down,” Bleier said. “I just try every day. I don’t take any day for granted, I’m happy to be here today, and hopefully I’m here tomorrow.”

Being Jewish definitely has been part of Bleier’s life. He grew up in South Florida and became a bar mitzvah there. He also played for Team Israel in the 2013 World Baseball Classic and loved having that opportunity.

Israel advanced to the final round of the qualifier before losing to Spain in extra innings and being eliminated. Still, Bleier said the entire experience is one that he will never forget.

“It was a lot of fun,” Bleier said. “Just so many people that were playing for something more than just their stats or anything like that. You play to win but you’re playing for other things, too. It was, ‘Let’s win,’ and regardless if you did well or didn’t do well, as long as the team won, it was fun and it was a lot of fun.”

Bleier, who is married with no children, had the same opportunity when Team Israel played in this year’s World Baseball Classic but turned down the opportunity while trying to make the Orioles.

Orioles Manager Buck Showalter said the team likes that Bleier has fared better against right-handed hitters. This season, right-handed hitters have just a .211 average against Bleier, who always fared well versus left-handed batters, something common for a southpaw.

However, getting right-handers out consistently will likely earn a left-handed pitcher more chances out of the bullpen, and that’s been happening for Bleier in recent days.

“He’s always done well against left-handed hitters, for the most part, he just now seems to be getting enough consistent work,” Showalter said. “He’s got his feet on the ground, and he can kind of show us what he can do and is not looking over his shoulder after every outing and [thinking], ‘Am I out of here?’”

Jeff Seidel is a Baltimore-based freelance writer.

Photo of Richard Bleier courtesy of the Baltimore Orioles