WASHINGTON - Sometimes a season-changing connection starts with something as ordinary as a flight home.
At the 2025 MLB All-Star Game at Truist Park last July, Brandon Lowe and Ryan O’Hearn were just two players among 80 heading in different directions when the break wrapped up. Then the Rays offered O’Hearn a ride to Florida on the charter carrying their four representatives, and an offseason storyline for the Pirates began taking shape in the air.
The two had only known each other from competing against one another before that week, but the All-Star experience gave them a chance to actually talk. They spent plenty of time together at the park, around batting practice and the other obligations that come with the event. Then the trip to Tampa brought their families into the mix, too.
“Brandon’s son Emmitt has a big personality, so I ended up joking around with him for a good amount of time,” O’Hearn said this weekend at Nationals Park. “It was cool.
I had talked to Brandon quite a bit at the All-Star festivities. We knew each other from playing against each other.
I really liked his swing and how he plays the game.
“But we got to know each other a little bit more there. A crazy coincidence that we ended up in the same place the next year.”
Lowe said the family side of the flight felt easy from the start.
“Our bus ride to the airport took a little bit longer than it should have,” Lowe recalled. “I think we got caught up at the gate for 30-some minutes.
My wife [Madison] and I were just talking to [O’Hearn’s wife] Hannah the whole time. Pretty sure he got closest with Emmitt out of the whole group.
It wasn’t awkward or weird at all.”
That kind of comfort now makes perfect sense in the Pirates clubhouse, where both players have become respected voices and dependable bats. They carry themselves like pros, and teammates know what they’re getting every night: solid at-bats and steady leadership.
Even before they became teammates, each had a clear read on the other. O’Hearn admired Lowe’s compact, powerful swing and the way he squeezes big-time power out of his 5-foot-9 frame. Lowe, meanwhile, had already heard plenty about O’Hearn’s personality and the way he brings people together.
“I remember Zach Eflin told us, ‘You’re gonna love this guy,’ ” Lowe said. “We played against him in the AL East, so I understood who he was. But I never sat down and talked him.
“Then this offseason, after I got traded to Pittsburgh, I was kind of like, ‘Man, I’d really like him to sign in Pittsburgh.’ Him actually [signing with the Pirates] came out of nowhere.”
It didn’t feel that way to O’Hearn.
He didn’t stay in close contact with Lowe after that All-Star flight, but he did keep an eye on what the Rays infielder was doing. Lowe put up 31 home runs, 83 RBIs and a .785 OPS last season, and he’s on pace to sail past those numbers this year.
Then came the move that changed O’Hearn’s view of Pittsburgh. When the Pirates traded for Lowe, Jake Mangum and Mason Montgomery in exchange for Mike Burrows, O’Hearn saw a team making a clear statement. Three days later, he agreed to a two-year, $29 million deal to join the Pirates as well.
“But when he got traded here, it definitely influenced my decision,” said O’Hearn, who has a higher OPS (.807) now than he did during his 2025 campaign (.803).
The results have shown up quickly. Lowe and O’Hearn have been two of the biggest reasons the Pirates have scored 475 runs, third-most in Major League Baseball entering Monday’s games.
Their team OPS of .762 trails only the Dodgers. Against right-handed pitching, no club has piled up more bases than Pittsburgh’s 1,000.
And even with the Pirates still three games out of a playoff spot and not yet playing their best baseball, the two left-handed hitters have helped drive the offense forward while also shaping the group around them.
Looking back, it all traces to that 80-minute ride south, an empty seat, and a conversation that turned two familiar opponents into teammates.
“I remember we talked after I signed,” O’Hearn said. “We were just both excited to play together and about what this team could be.”
Added Lowe, “It’s awesome. He’s a heck of a ball player.
He’s very professional in everything he does. Whether it’s doing small leadership things around the clubhouse or joking around, having a good time, he’s a joy to be around.”
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