Jul. 13—It’s not often that baseball players get to play for their childhood favorite team.
But that’s the situation former Thomas Johnson player Jack Maruskin finds himself in, and when the Baltimore Orioles offered him a contract on Tuesday, he didn’t hesitate to sign.
“Being a hometown guy, it was kind of a no-brainer to play for the team I grew up loving,” Maruskin said Thursday. “I just jumped on the opportunity the second it came to me.”
The right-hander was picked up as an undrafted free agent, and he said the Orioles called him with an offer almost immediately after the 20-round MLB draft concluded Tuesday evening.
Maruskin put his name in the draft after a strong summer with the Frederick Keys and hoped to be selected on the third and final day. He said a handful of scouts showed up to each of his seven appearances out of the bullpen, but he only had conversations with three teams during and after the draft.
One of those was Baltimore, and although no club drafted him, the Orioles soon presented him with a chance to join the organization that he couldn’t pass up.
“I was just looking for an opportunity to play, and the fact that it’s that team giving me an opportunity, it was even better,” he said. “It was a no-brainer no matter what, but the fact that it was them, just cherry on top of the whole experience.”
Maruskin will report to the Orioles’ spring training site in Sarasota, Florida, this weekend for a physical and to begin working out with the Rookie-level team.
It’s been a bit of an unusual journey for Maruskin, who only became a full-time pitcher this season after years as an outfielder. He helped lead TJ to the 2018 state title as a senior, catching the final out of the championship game in center field and earning FNP first team all-area honors.
Maruskin then went to Frostburg State and continued impressing in the field and at the plate, hitting .313 with 40 RBIs for his college career. But during his sophomore year, his coaches were testing their outfielders’ arm strength and noticed Maruskin was throwing well over 90 mph.
“I’ve always had a strong arm growing up, and just seeing that I kind of had a natural talent on the mound, seeing that I could develop it and make slow [velocity] gains every year,” Maruskin said. “Just seeing the jumps I was making, I sort of realized I could maybe do something with this.”
So began a gradual transition to pitcher, although Maruskin remained a two-way player his sophomore and junior seasons. But he became a pitcher-only in 2023, his senior campaign.
This season with the Bobcats, Maruskin pitched to a 5.87 ERA with 39 strikeouts in 23 innings, mostly out of the bullpen. He improved this summer with his hometown Keys, holding a 3.18 ERA in 11 1-3 innings of relief.
“He just worked his absolute tail off, developing, developing, developing,” said Billy Gross, Maruskin’s coach at TJ.
Now, Maruskin will get to continue developing in a professional organization, one that just so happens to be his favorite.
“Just super grateful that everything’s happened. It’s been a long journey, a lot of hard work,” Maruskin said. “Being a Maryland guy, it’s a dream come true playing for the hometown and favorite team growing up.”