Orioles rookie infielder Terrin Vavra was called up to the majors in late July and has since become entrenched in the organization on and off the field.
The 6-foot-1, 200-pound infielder batted .324/.435/.451 for Triple-A Norfolk in 2022 to earn the call-up. Vavra made an immediate impact on the big league club, hitting .370/.455/.482 in his first 33 plate appearances as an Oriole.
Vavra, 25, has seen a drop-off in production and playing time since then and is now batting .255/.333/.314 with no home runs on the season. However, this struggle is fueling a higher level of determination for the Menomonie, Wis., native.
“I think I started off pretty well and showed I was capable of playing at this level,” Vavra said on Glenn Clark Radio Sept. 9. “And then when you start to struggle you just try not to rewrite the book and try to take it one day at a time and take it one opportunity at a time and try to learn from each opportunity. That’s what I’ve been doing.
“It’s a hard game and it doesn’t get any easier. At this level, your mistakes can be [amplified] a little bit more so you’ve got to be a little more particular and you’ve got to be ready to go and be able to adjust a little quicker. That’s something I’m still working on and I think I’ll get better with going forward.”
Vavra was brought to Baltimore in a trade that sent relief pitcher Mychal Givens to the Colorado Rockies in August 2020. Vavra has since slowly but surely made his way through the minors, spending time with Double-A Bowie and High-A Aberdeen and in the Florida Complex League in 2021.
Vavra seemed to be comfortable as soon as he arrived at the alternate site in Bowie in 2020 despite the condition of the big league team.
“[The trade] was kind of a whirlwind,” Vavra said. “Because you get accustomed to things you know, and I was familiar with the Rockies, and then I knew the Orioles were in a different state in their organization at the time. But once I got over here it was nothing but excitement. You could just see the trend of the direction that this organization was going and I’m all-in on that now.”
Vavra has been making headlines off the field recently, too, by partnering with the Vs. Cancer Foundation. Fans can donate to fight pediatric brain cancer as part of Vavra’s efforts.
“[My agent] presented me with the opportunity and I thought I’m on a pretty great platform to be able to do something and raise awareness and money. And [I] hope to fund any research or support any families I can, so I jumped right ahead at the opportunity,” Vavra said. “This organization has been great to me since, they have been pretty awesome. I’m happy I’ve done it so far, hopefully I can get some money going for them.”
Vavra acknowledged the tremendous response from fans and supporters of his campaign.
“The response was really overwhelming, it was awesome,” Vavra said. “It was something that was an easy decision for me and I didn’t really think twice about it. Once it started getting posted and people started coming to hear stories, I was like, ‘Wow, this is an even cooler opportunity than I thought at first.’”
Vavra later visited University of Maryland Children’s Hospital, where he was able to bond and play video games with a pediatric cancer patient.
“It just made me really embrace what I’m doing a little bit more and I’m just happy I was presented with this opportunity and thankful that I did it,” Vavra said.
Now, Vavra is looking forward to the remainder of the Orioles’ season and trying to secure that elusive third wild-card spot.
“We’re not supposed to be where we’re at, at least not yet,” Vavra said about the Orioles 2022 season. “And that’s the exciting part is we can go out here and keep playing our game and keep doing what we’ve been doing … because we got nothing but fun to be had and hopefully games to be won.”
Full article can be found at: https://pressboxonline.com/2022/09/15/orioles-rookie-infielder-terrin-vavra-making-impact-on-off-field-in-baltimore/