Jorge Mateo’s 2-run double lifts Orioles to 3-1 win over Rays: ‘He creates so much havoc’

Over the final five months of last season, Jorge Mateo was by far the worst hitter in baseball.

The Orioles infielder batted .179 with a paltry .472 OPS. The next-worst hitter with at least 250 plate appearances during that stretch posted an OPS nearly 80 points better. Mateo was reduced to a platoon role during his struggles, and as he whiffed through slider after slider outside the zone, it was difficult at times to understand why he was in the Orioles’ lineup.

Now, it’s hard to imagine a lineup without his name in it.