Riley O'Brien, grandson of Seattle icon, having breakthrough season for St. Louis Cardinals
ST. LOUIS - Kerri Hong was a regular visitor last year during the final months of Johnny O'Brien's well-lived and well-rounded life.
She wanted to see her father-in-law, and she also wanted "Pops," as the family called the Seattle sports icon, to see his grandson. So she would make a call to her son, Riley O'Brien, and connect the two of them via FaceTime.
Even at 94 years old, Johnny O'Brien would get excited talking baseball with his grandson.
"He would make a motion to pitch and tell him to ‘throw strikes,'" Hong said, laughing at the memory.
It's a simple but effective message that has worked for Riley O'Brien, a 31-year-old right-hander who is enjoying a breakthrough season as the closer for the St. Louis Cardinals, one of three major-league teams for which his grandfather played in the 1950s.
Johnny O'Brien died on June 13, 2025, at the age of 94, leaving behind a transcendent legacy on the Seattle sports scene.
Johnny and his twin brother, Eddie, famously helped turn Seattle U men's basketball into a powerhouse in the 1950s. Both were drafted in the NBA but chose to play baseball instead, playing alongside each other for five years with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Johnny would later spent 23 years overseeing operations at the Kingdome.
"Growing up, I would always hear stories about all the things he did," Riley O'Brien said Saturday morning, before the Mariners-Cardinals game at Busch Stadium. "He seemed to have his hand in just about everything."
Riley O'Brien grew up in Shoreline as an avid Mariners fan, as was his mom. She's continued to support the team in another way: Hong is one of the Delta flight attendants who works the Mariners' chartered flights for road trips.
She is in St. Louis this weekend to support Riley, of course. She's also here for work. After Sunday's series finale, she'll help the Mariners travel on to Minnesota for the final leg of this trip.
I love it, Hong said of her job, as she approaches her 40th anniversary as a flight attendant this summer.
Ichiro was always Riley's favorite player, and his mom remembered the year he had to dress up as the Hall of Fame right fielder for Halloween.
At Shorewood High School, Riley stood 5-foot-2 as a freshman, his mom said. He was initially reluctant to even try out for the baseball team, only agreeing to do so after some encouragement from his dad, Frank.
By the time he was a senior at Shorewood, Riley had grown to 6-2.
He is 6-4 now, armed with a fastball that's touched 101 mph this season.
Outside of San Diego closer Mason Miller, Riley O'Brien has been the best reliever in baseball through the season's first month.
"He's a late-bloomer," Hong said. "I've always told him, ‘Don't compare yourself to anybody else. This is your own journey.' And he's taken that to heart."
Riley began his college career at Everett Community College, transferred to the College of Idaho and was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in the eighth round of the 2017 draft. He was traded to the Reds and made his brief MLB debut in 2021.
He was traded to his childhood team before the 2022 season, and then made one appearance for the Mariners, pitching a scoreless inning against the Rays at T-Mobile Park.
He spent most of the '22 season and all of 2023 pitching in Triple-A Tacoma, getting good results but never getting another opportunity with the Mariners.
He was traded to St. Louis in a small deal in November 2023, and he took advantage of his first extended shot in a big-league bullpen last year, posting a 2.06 ERA over 48 innings with the Cardinals.
He's emerged as their closer this season, and he didn't allow a run in his first 13 appearances, with 15 strikeouts and no walks, until the Mariners got to him for two runs in their 11-9 comeback victory on Saturday afternoon.
"It's taken awhile, but it's coming together," he said. "I feel really good physical and mentally, and I'm just trying to keep it rolling."
Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.