Orioles Announce John Means as Opening Day Starter
Current Baltimore Orioles and former West Virginia pitcher John Means will take the mound on opening day Friday, July 24 against the Boston Red Sox.
Means spent two years with the Mountaineer baseball program in 2013 and 2014 and during his senior season, he won six of his eight starts and finished with a 3.13 ERA.
Means was drafted by Baltimore in the 11th round of the 2014 MLB Draft and worked his way up the Minor League ranks until being called up to the Orioles in September of 2018.
Means grabbed the last spot on the 2019 opening day roster for the Orioles and came out of the bullpen to start the season before moving to the starting rotation for his first Major League start on April 9 against the Oakland Athletics. He allowed five runs but only one was earned in three innings.
With an ERA of 2.50 and a 7-4 record, Means became the first Orioles starting pitcher to be named to the American League All-Star team since Chris Tillman in 2013 and was the only Oriole selected to the 2019 All-Star game. Additionally was the first Mountaineer to be selected to a Major League All-Star game.
Means finished the season with a 12-11 record on 27 starts, a 3.60 ERA and was second in the American League Rookie of the Year voting.
West Virginia baseball coach Randy Mazey took to Twitter following the announcement of Means getting the opening day start congratulating his former Mountaineer hurler. "Congratulations Meansy. Go get ‘em!"
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