We always hear the success stories of players who work their way up the minor league ladder, but we never really talk about the players who never got the opportunity to play in the big leagues.
I sat down with former Orioles prospect Zach Moore, who never got the chance to play in the majors. Instead, he’s finding success at something much different in the form of content creation.
Moore was born right here in Maryland, the Pasadena area, to be precise. He discovered his love of baseball from his brother, who was 12 years older than him, and started hitting in the cages as a two-year-old, playing ball in a rec league by the age of three.
Moore attended Mt. Saint Joesph, where he began his high school career. He later transferred to Chesapeake High School, where he would graduate in 2006. Moore would play at Dundalk Community College before transferring to Cheasapeake Community College, where he would play nine games before needing surgery on his shoulder.
After his JUCO season, Moore would get many NAIA offers and would eventually receive offers from Division I schools like Duke and Virginia Tech. He would also talk with MLB teams like the Cubs, Brewers and Orioles. But Moore would end up getting drafted in the 24th round by the Miami Marlins after returning to Dundalk Community College.
“I never really talked to the Marlins at all until like two weeks before the draft. My phone rang, and I was actually on the phone with Dean Albany for a while, and the Marlins just ended up taking me.”
Right after being drafted, Moore went straight to rookie ball, where he said the experience helped him figure out exactly what plans the Marlins had for his future.
“You came in every morning, usually around 6:00. You had your breakfast, most of the time you would get a workout in, go outside around 7:30 or 8:00 and then we would practice until like 11:00 or 12:00. Then you would come in and eat a sub, the same 10-inch sub every day, and then you would play a game.”
In 32 games in rookie ball, Moore slashed .284/.358/.326 with a .684 OPS. He collected 27 hits, four of which were doubles, and knocked in 12 RBIs. He also showed off his speed, stealing seven bases in 10 attempts.
Fun fact: His first professional at-bat was against three-time All-Star Adam Wainwright.
“I remember he walked me. I stole second on the next pitch, and he gave me this stare like, ‘What are you doing?’ He picks off and drills me in the ribs as I was diving back and says, ‘Don’t run, rook.’”
Moore would find out after the inning that it’s an unwritten rule to steal on someone doing a rehab assignment.
After the 2008 season, Moore and the Marlins organization had differences in where he would find success in the field. Both decided to mutually agree on his release, and Moore would eventually sign with the Orioles.
In Moore’s only season with the Aberdeen IronBirds, he hit his first home run. It would be the only home run he would hit in his professional career.
“I hit it in Mahoney Valley, and it barely squeaked over. It was a line drive.”
Moore’s year with Aberdeen would only consist of 25 games, as he slashed .185/.228/.259 with a .487 OPS. He posted 10 hits, a double, a home run, five RBIs and stole three bases in five attempts.
Moore would play against many familiar major leaguers like Moisés Alou, Trot Nixon, Colby Rasmus, Wilson Ramos and Steve Lombardozzi, to name a few. While he had fun playing pro ball, all of it came to an abrupt end over something he really couldn’t prevent.
Moore stopped playing ball due to a heart condition caused by a hole in his heart, which led to supraventricular tachycardia, a very fast or erratic heartbeat that affects the heart’s upper chambers.
If you remember, Gatorade used to have issues back in 2010 when there was an ingredient that prevented sugar from falling to the bottom of the drink. Gatorade actually caused Moore’s symptoms to worsen due to that ingredient.
While Moore’s career was over, he would have a new impact in baseball in creating content. Moore explained that he originally started YouTube to create kayak fishing content and would eventually expand out to doing Call of Duty streams before being told by a friend to start making baseball content. So, in 2023, PigTown Sports was born.
The channel would help Moore soar, as he has since been invited by 105.7 The Fan to talk on the radio, as he constantly pops up on different FYPs on TikTok or YouTube Shorts.
Moore is now a married man and a father of three children. The love of baseball is still represented in his family through his cousin, San Diego Padres All-Star center fielder Jackson Merrill, whom Moore is extremely proud of.
It’s always great to hear the success stories of baseball, but I really enjoyed sitting down with Zach to discuss his career as a minor leaguer and learn how the process goes. If you haven’t checked him out, you really should because you get to see just how knowledgeable Moore is when it comes to the Orioles organization.
We thank Zach Moore for his time. Give him a follow @PigTownSports on X, TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.
What are your thoughts on Zach Moore and his journey through baseball? Let us know in the comments below! Make sure to follow The Baltimore Battery on Facebook, Twitter (X) and TikTok, and use the hashtag #baltimorebattery when sharing our content!
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