BALTIMORE -- While protests condemning racial injustice swept the nation in May and June, there was perhaps no more vocal Oriole than right-hander Asher Wojciechowski, who spoke out in support of the Black Lives Matter movement in a series of Twitter posts. Then, in late June, Wojciechowski appeared on the Orioles¡¯ digital feature ¡°Nighttime Stories¡± with children¡¯s author Chris Singleton, a former outfielder in the Cubs' system who lost his mother, Sharonda, in the 2015 Charleston church shooting.

Wojciechowski, who attended high school in coastal South Carolina and went to college at The Citadel in Charleston, S.C., appeared on the segment to help promote Singleton¡¯s book ¡°Different,¡± which aims to teach kids about racial equality and inclusion. In the process, Wojciechowski lent an important voice to the chorus of MLB figures to speak out in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd, while also contributing to the conversation about racism and police brutality that was unfolding on a national stage.

Wojciechowski explained his motivation for doing so on Thursday, speaking to reporters for the first time this summer.

"My whole message is love and unity,¡± he said. ¡°As a kid who grew up on the mission fields -- my parents being missionaries and my dad being a pastor -- I feel like I am a pretty well-cultured kid. I got to travel the world, I got to see many different cultures and see the love of Christ in many different cultures around the world. That¡¯s something I try to do -- love people, no matter where they are from, no matter what they look like. To spread that love and love your neighbor. It¡¯s a simple message and it¡¯s something that I try to live by, and it¡¯s something I try to show through my actions."

In Wojciechowski¡¯s telling, it¡¯s an edict that¡¯s been instilled in him since childhood: ¡°To love thy neighbor and love one another.¡±

¡°It¡¯s something I want to speak about and set an example for,¡± he said.

On the field, Wojciechowski appears in line for a back-end rotation spot after going 4-8 with a 4.92 ERA in 17 games (16 starts) in 2019. He said he¡¯d like to throw five innings and roughly 75 pitches in his next two tune-ups for the regular season, having completed four innings and 65 pitches in his last round of live batting practice. The 31-year-old is Baltimore¡¯s projected No. 4 starter behind John Means, Alex Cobb and Wade LeBlanc.

¡°I really like our rotation. ¡­ I feel like we have a very veteran rotation, guys with a lot of experience,¡± Wojciechowski said. ¡°To be honest with you, I get really tired of people saying we¡¯re rebuilding and not trying. We¡¯re all here, we¡¯re all professionals. We¡¯re here to compete and to win. If you¡¯re not here to do that, then you shouldn¡¯t be here. We¡¯re all here to win.¡±

Off the field, though, his message is far less combative: Love and unity. It¡¯s one he¡¯ll continue to promote as long as he has the platform.

¡°I think it¡¯s a good message,¡± Wojciechowski said. ¡°Things would be a lot simpler if everybody did that.¡±