ARLINGTON, Texas — When Ryan O’Hearn saw the more than 1.7 million votes that had him leading American League designated hitters in All-Star voting last week, he was blown away. Maybe there was an orange wave, he thought, courtesy of his mom and her friends canvassing their 55-and-over community in Buckeye, Ariz.

“It seems like a lot of people in my life have been pulling for me, trying to get their friends to vote for me,” O’Hearn said. “Makes me smile. Very fortunate to have them in my life.”

Maybe the 31-year-old got some help from the campaigning moms, but it was his resurgent “back-from-the-dead” season that put him on a clear path to being selected as a starter in his first All-Star Game on July 15 in Atlanta. MLB made his selection official Wednesday night.

O’Hearn leads all qualified Orioles hitters in batting average (.295), on-base percentage (.383), slugging (.471) and OPS (.854). He has 11 home runs, four shy of his career high and second most in Baltimore.

The smile O’Hearn wore as he stepped before cameras and microphones Wednesday evening tells the story of a long journey to recognition he never thought possible. For five seasons and change in Kansas City, the idea of being an All-Star was a pipe dream. He came to terms with what he figured to be his professional fate. When the Orioles came calling in May 2023, O’Hearn joked that if the Royals were to ever build him a statue it would be erected on the dugout bench, where he spent most of his playing days.

“I spent a lot of time trying to keep my head above water in the big leagues and stick around as long as I possibly could,” O’Hearn said. “To say I’m a major league All-Star, I’m blown away.”

He tried to temper expectations these past few weeks, remembering what it felt like to be on the outside looking in of the final ballot last year. It made this announcement all the more special.

Interim manager Tony Mansolino gathered the whole team to share the news. He waxed about the story of O’Hearn’s ascendance from last guy on the bench on the worst team in baseball to batting cleanup on an American League East title team to All-Star starter. Then O’Hearn addressed the team wearing that same toothy smile.

“To see the joy and the happiness on the whole room’s face,” Mansolino said, “I think that probably tells the story of Ryan O’Hearn as much as the story itself.”

This is the third straight year Baltimore has a starter in the All-Star Game. Last year, the Orioles sent catcher Adley Rutschman and shortstop Gunnar Henderson, who represent the first draft picks in the organization’s rebuild era, after former outfielder Austin Hays got the starting nod as an injury replacement in 2023. The Orioles nearly repeated with another Midsummer Classic pairing.

Sophomore second baseman Jackson Holliday missed the cut behind the Detroit Tigers’ Gleyber Torres but could still make his first All-Star Game when the full rosters are announced Saturday. Torres received 66% of the fan vote in Phase 2 of the voting process to earn the starting nod, with Holliday securing 34%.

O’Hearn has been a bright spot in an otherwise disappointing 2025. This season began with championship aspirations. By mid-May, manager Brandon Hyde was fired and their playoff hopes dropped below 4% by July, according to FanGraphs. O’Hearn’s bat, his defense and his leadership in the clubhouse have all been paramount to keeping this season from falling completely off the rails.

“He’s a vocal guy,” rookie first baseman Coby Mayo said. “He likes hanging out with the guys and cracking jokes on the buses. He’s just the guy who’s always gonna speak up.”

Although Holliday won’t know for sure until Saturday if he’ll be selected as an All-Star, there’s a hard-to-miss confidence brewing in the clubhouse for the youngest player in the room.

“I called it last year,” third baseman Jordan Westburg said. “I don’t want to toot my own horn, but when he was struggling and that was kind of the story, I told somebody, ‘He’s gonna be OK.’ ”

Holliday’s 60-game rookie year in 2024 was colored by the frustrating numbers: a .189 batting average with a .565 OPS and 69 strikeouts in 208 plate appearances. There was, famously, the 1-for-30 start to his big league career and a circus of cameras following his every move. His first home run, a Eutaw Street grand slam, helped vindicate what Westburg was seeing.

“Everybody knows the talent is there. Everybody knows the tools were there,” Westburg said. “But the makeup is different, the maturity is different. You see it in Gunnar and you see it in Jackson. I can’t really recall any other ballplayers I’ve played with where the maturity is just like that off the charts.

“He was gonna figure it out. It’s been cool to see him figure it out because he’s carried this team on his shoulders at times.”

Holliday is slashing a much-improved .255/.307/.405 with 10 home runs and 33 RBIs. Mansolino slid him into an everyday leadoff role, and it’s paid dividends. O’Hearn said he often forgets how young Holliday is. “He takes some swings sometimes and I’m like, ‘Wow.’ The way he can sink and stay through a change-up comes to mind. … He plays mature beyond his years, and I think he’s very deserving to be an All-Star.”

The Orioles have a couple of other All-Star contenders who could be in the mix come Saturday’s final tally in Henderson and closer Félix Bautista. However, it might take injuries elsewhere to get them to Atlanta.

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