Hoffman over the moon after debut on big league mound

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The wide smile never left Nolan Hoffman’s face while he was talking. The nervousness still came through in the trembles of his voice. The 25-year-old may not have entirely believed what had just happened.

Hoffman pitched a scoreless ninth inning and recorded a save for the Orioles in their 5-2 win over the Rays at Tropicana Field on Sunday afternoon.

Now, it was only a Grapefruit League game, played here because the Rays’ Spring Training facilities in Port Charlotte, Fla., are under repair following damage caused by Hurricane Ian last September. But to Hoffman, it was a stage like none he’d previously experienced.

“I’ve never pitched in a Major League stadium before, not even for like a camp or anything,” Hoffman said. “So all day, I’ve just been super grateful and saying to myself how cool it is.”

Hoffman, a 6-foot-4 sidearming right-hander who was acquired by Baltimore via the first pick of the Minor League portion of the 2021 Rule 5 Draft, had made two previous Grapefruit League appearances this spring. But those outings weren’t guaranteed. He was brought over from Minor League camp to travel with the team as an emergency reliever, only getting into the games because other hurlers reached their pitch limits mid-inning and the Orioles needed somebody to complete the frame.

Although Hoffman was listed on the Orioles’ Sunday travel roster a day earlier, he was unaware when he arrived at the ballpark that the plan was for him to get the full ninth inning if the team was ahead or the game was tied. While shagging fly balls during batting practice about an hour before first pitch, Hoffman received the news.

“They definitely just kind of sprang it on me, but that’s fun,” Hoffman said.

The opportunity arose because manager Brandon Hyde was impressed by Hoffman’s earlier strong yet brief outings this spring, both of which came vs. the Tigers in Lakeland, Fla. And how could the skipper not have been?

Last Sunday, Hoffman recorded the game’s final out by striking out outfield prospect Parker Meadows swinging. On Thursday, Hoffman entered with two outs in the fifth and punched out Javier Báez, getting the All-Star slugger to swing through a 73.7 mph breaking ball in the dirt to end the inning.

Hyde wanted to see Hoffman in an extended appearance Sunday. The righty gladly took the assignment.

But Hoffman’s outing didn’t get off to the best start. He threw his final warmup pitch too late and got a pitch timer violation, resulting in an automatic ball. That led to a leadoff walk to Niko Hulsizer.

Hoffman recovered by punching out the next two batters (Blake Hunt and Grant Witherspoon), getting each to swing through strike three. Osleivis Basabe legged out a two-out infield single, but Hoffman closed it out by getting Ronny Simon to line out to left to seal the victory.

“Good slider again and tough fastball to hit, just because the angle’s so difficult,” said Hyde, who has been intrigued by the uniqueness of Hoffman’s sidearm delivery.

This is only the beginning of Hoffman’s second year in the Orioles’ organization. He played two seasons at Hutchinson Community College (2016 and ‘17) and one at Texas A&M (‘18) before getting taken by the Mariners in the fifth round of the 2018 MLB Draft.

In his first year in Baltimore’s farm system in 2022, Hoffman recorded a 4.24 ERA over 18 relief appearances for Double-A Bowie. He missed all of June and July due to some nerve damage in his right elbow, so the Orioles got him additional work by sending him to the Arizona Fall League, where he pitched to a 3.65 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP in 10 games for the Scottsdale Scorpions.

“What was great about the Fall League was I got to get into a rhythm, almost like a midseason form,” Hoffman said. “Then after a little while, I just started feeling normal again, and that was just a great feeling.”

Not quite up to the level of his emotions on Sunday in St. Petersburg, though. Those were even better.

“I stepped out onto the mound and to have all the lights and everything,” Hoffman said, “it was just like, ‘This is really cool.’”

Hyde left open the possibility that Hoffman could get into more Grapefruit League games. However, the Orioles aren’t playing any other exhibitions at Tropicana Field. So those appearances would come at the smaller Spring Training ballparks around Florida.

But Hoffman could again toe the rubber at The Trop or another MLB park in the future, should he accomplish his goal of reaching the Majors. If that happens, his smile should be even wider and his nerves may come through even more on that day.