How A Pair Of Baseball-Playing Monkeys Helped An MLB Rookie Earn A Spot On The Orioles

There are plenty of MLB players who’ve used spring training to prove they belong on the Opening Day roster because of their talents, but former Orioles infielder Ryan Flaherty apparently got some help from some baseball-playing monkeys he showed off at a talent show.

A very large chunk of MLB players head to spring training knowing they don’t have to worry about earning their spot on the team, and they mostly use their time in Florida or Arizona to get some of the rust off while gearing up for the regular season.

With that said, they’re sharing a locker room with guys who are hoping to avoid being exiled to the minor leagues when everything is said and done.

That was the case with Ryan Flaherty in 2012, who was hoping to make his mark with the Baltimore Orioles after being selected by the team in the Rule 5 draft the previous year following a few seasons at the A and AA levels as a member of the Cubs organization.

He was ultimately able to achieve that goal, and while his play was the primary factor, he apparently set himself apart from the rest of the pack thanks to a stunt he pulled during a team bonding activity.

Ryan Flaherty earned the right to play for the Orioles with the help of a couple of baseball-playing monkeys

Buck Showalter was the manager of the Orioles in 2008, and he obviously had plenty of say when it came to selecting the 25 players who would ultimately have a locker with their name on it inside Camden Yards when spring training wrapped up.

The skipper was in attendance when the Orioles organized a talent show where younger players got the chance to show what they bring to the table off of the field, and while Flaherty might have violated the spirit of that particular assignment, he still managed to make quite the impression by tracking down a pair of monkeys that were capable of throwing and hitting baseballs.

We sadly don’t live in a world where video evidence of that gathering exists, although I can give you a consolation prize in the form of a video featuring a chimpanzee taking some swings for a Japanese television program if you’re trying to visualize the scene in question.

Showalter added the stunt eventually came to the attention of the health department and the Humane Society, although it doesn’t sound like anyone got in trouble. It is legal to own a pet monkey in Florida (Baltimore sets up shop in Sarasota for spring training), and based on its reputation, I honestly wouldn’t be shocked to learn it’s not actually that difficult to track down someone who’s trained monkeys to play baseball in the Sunshine State.

Flaherty ultimately spent six seasons as an infielder for the Orioles and had brief stints with the Braves and Guardians before his time as an MLB player came to an end in 2019. He bounced back by landing a scouting and coaching gig with the Padres and accepted a job as the bench coach for the Cubs at the start of 2024.