As his parents and other members of his extended baseball family worked the ballpark’s concession stands years ago to raise money for a team trip to Cooperstown, New York, the younger Selby marveled at the size of the venue.

Now that it’s essentially his office, Selby is over it.

A native of Chesapeake who won a state title with Western Branch High in 2014 before starring for Division III Randolph-Macon College, the 26-year-old Selby is now working out of the Norfolk Tides’ bullpen.

After stops with six minor league teams and two in the majors in three organizations, the workplaces blend together.

“I remember when I was younger, I thought this place was a lot bigger,” Selby said. “And you play in a couple different stadiums, and you come back and it’s the same size as all the other ones. But yeah, it’s been fun.”

Selby, a soft-spoken right-hander with a curly red beard that would make any pirate proud, joined the Baltimore Orioles’ organization when he was traded by the Kansas City Royals for cash on July 11.

He entered Saturday’s game against Jacksonville with a 0-0 record, a 3.00 ERA and a save through three relief outings with Norfolk.

For a parent club in search of bullpen help, Selby offers an intriguing level of experience.

Originally a 16th-round draft pick by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2018, Selby pitched in 21 major league games with Pittsburgh last season and two more with the Royals this year.

He has an 8.67 ERA in the big leagues, but he’s walked 17 and struck out 30 in 27 innings.

Through 139 appearances in the minors, Selby has a 3.65 ERA with 126 walks and 309 strikeouts in 286 1/3 innings, a body of work that proves he’s a strike-thrower.

As much as he’s defied the odds by reaching the major leagues from a D-III program, Selby has done it in another way by landing with his hometown team.

Since 1969, according to the Tides’ archives, just 13 players from Hampton Roads high schools have played for the team.

On a roster frequently dotted with players from all over the world, it’s a rarity.

“I think it’s always one of those things that go in the back of your head,” said corner infielder Coby Mayo, Selby’s 22-year-old teammate. “It’d be cool to play where you grew up.”

For now, Selby is living in his childhood home in Chesapeake. His parents are looking to sell the house and move to Northern Virginia, so he has to find other accommodations by mid-August.

The setup, no matter how fleeting, is a far cry from those at his previous stops, like Greensboro, Altoona, Indianapolis and Omaha.

“You see your parents and your dogs every day, so I can’t complain about that,” Selby said. “It is weird going back home and being like, ‘All right, Mom, I’m going to work.’ ”

Should Selby pitch his way out of Norfolk, he’ll be thrust into an American League East race with the first-place Orioles.

It’s something that, as he takes in Harbor Park in a different way, he’s trying not to think about.

“I think that’s where a lot of guys get in trouble, is when they are kind of in awe when they get on the mound,” Selby said. “I mean, it’s the same game you’ve been playing since you were a little kid. There might be an extra deck in the stands, but at the end of the day, you’re playing the same game. Just go out there and compete.”

David Hall, david.hall@pilotonline.com

From 757 to Tides

Players from Hampton Roads high schools who have played for the Tides since 1969:

Mike Ballard, Ocean Lakes

D.J. Dozier, Kempsville

Jason Dubois, Cox

David Duff, Menchville

Tim Lavigne, Cox

Trey McCoy, First Colonial

Clay Rapada, Deep Creek

Josh Rupe, Greenbrier Christian

Bill Scripture, Princess Anne

Colin Selby, Western Branch

Garrett Stallings, Grassfield

Matt Williams, Kellam

David Wright, Hickory

Another online report called Holliday, a Norfolk Tides middle infielder and the top prospect in the Baltimore Orioles’ organization, “the most untouchable prospect in baseball,” an indication that the 20-year-old is likely staying put.

But as Major League Baseball’s July 30 trade deadline creeps closer, rumors continue to fly. Holliday, the top overall pick in the 2022 draft, doesn’t seek them out. But he’s certainly not immune.

“Obviously, I don’t live in a cave,” Holliday said this week after taking pregame ground balls at second base. “I have Instagram and Twitter. Yeah, I see them. But I’m just trying to come out here and focus on getting better every day. At the end of the day, whatever happens happens. But I’m trying to focus on playing baseball here and for the Orioles.”

It’s an annual tradition, especially at the Triple-A level, for players to play a guessing game about their own futures each July. Rumors reach a crescendo as the deadline approaches, often up until the minute it passes.

On the day of the 6 p.m. deadline last season, then-Norfolk second baseman and outfielder Connor Norby — as much a subject of speculation as any player in the organization — sat in the Tides’ first-base dugout and wondered aloud to no one, “Is it 6:01 yet?”

It is, the players say, part of the deal at the minors’ highest level, especially in a loaded organization in which the parent club is on the market for pieces that will help it get a leg up in the competitive American League East.

Part of Norfolk manager Buck Britton’s job each July is helping to keep his players present as rumors swirl.

“That’s one of the tricky parts, especially with all this young talent that we do have,” Britton said. “With social media nowadays, we know that the Orioles are shopping for certain players, and certain players are on the blocks. I just tell them: No. 1, it’s out of our control. And the job is still to go out and play hard every day because with that deadline being here, you never know who’s watching.”

Tides corner infielder Coby Mayo, the organization’s third-ranked prospect according to MLB.com, is another subject of rumors.

The slugging Mayo, who leads Norfolk with 19 home runs, is as aware of the online talk as Holliday.

“I’ve always said I’d be lying to say that we don’t look at it and follow it because it’s our future, and we kind of just want to see what’s out there and what may happen,” Mayo said, his shirt soaked with sweat after an extended short-hop drill at first base on a muggy afternoon. “You may think about those things, but right now, we have a game tonight, and that’s all you have to really worry about.”

Holliday, the son of former All-Star Matt Holliday, got his first taste of the major leagues in April, when he went 2 for 34 (.059) in an unsightly 10-game stint.

But he’s rebounded. Holliday is batting .281 with 10 homers, 37 RBIs and a .927 OPS through 67 games with Norfolk. Notably, with 74 walks and 69 strikeouts, he leads the International League with a .439 on-base percentage.

The Orioles paid Holliday a record $8.19 million signing bonus for him to forgo his commitment to Oklahoma State.

Holliday, who is back at second base after a minor elbow injury briefly limited him to a designated-hitter role, said he wasn’t sure whether that’s enough to make him truly untouchable.

“I would like to think so, but you never know,” he said. “Like I said, my focus is here with the Orioles, trying to get better each and every day and help this team win and help the big league team win, hopefully here very soon. That’s my goal. So nothing other than that is what I’m focusing on right now.”

Britton cited former Tides shortstop Joey Ortiz, who was stuck in a logjam with Norfolk, but is now thriving in the major leagues after being traded to the Milwaukee Brewers as a player for whom a swap worked out.

It’s part of why Britton encourages his players to keep their focus on the field, even as fans speculate about other things.

“It could take one at-bat,” Britton said. “It could take one hard-nosed play defensively where somebody goes, ‘All right, that’s the guy that we want.’ And then you get an opportunity to go play in the big leagues.”

David Hall, david.hall@pilotonline.com.

If the fifth-year Old Dominion coach were an avatar in a college football video game today, as he once was, his own current player would take him out.

Monarchs All-American linebacker Jason Henderson is a prominent figure in EA Sports’ new and wildly popular College Football 25, ranking 50th among all FBS players in overall ability.

Rahne, a quarterback at Cornell in the early 2000s whose likeness could once be found in an earlier iteration of the game, would not want the virtual Henderson pursuing him.

“I was a bad athlete who could throw the ball,” Rahne said Tuesday in New Orleans as part of Sun Belt Media Days. “Jason’s a tremendous athlete. I definitely would’ve got sacked. Also, I think I finished my career with negative rushing yards, so I’m gonna say that, yeah, he probably would’ve brought me down.”

The 6-foot-1, 227-pound Henderson, who is recovering from a knee injury in real life, has an overall ranking of 91 out of 100 in the video game. The Sun Belt Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, he is the league’s lone player to crack the top 100.

But it’s not something over which the senior from Dingmans Ferry, Pennsylvania, obsesses.

“It’s really cool,” Henderson said. “I don’t play the game personally a lot. I’ve never had a console. But obviously, I’ve been on the game since it came out. I think it’s awesome. I think it’s great for all the players.”

Rahne was no slouch at Cornell, where he was a three-year starter who graduated with school records for completions, passing yards and touchdown passes.

Henderson, though, is a different animal. He led the nation with 14.2 tackles per game last season, and he might well have broken the single-season record for tackles had he not been injured late in the 2022 season.

The Monarchs, on the heels of a 6-7 season that included an overtime loss to Western Kentucky in the Famous Toastery Bowl, were picked to finish sixth in the Sun Belt’s East Division in a preseason poll. But Henderson remains an undeniable bright spot.

Having him be a part of something that’s bringing people together, Rahne said, is icing on the cake.

Rahne described a scene in which 20 or so of his players were enjoying the game in one room.

“We live in a pretty divisive country where everything we did is right and wrong and this sort of thing,” Rahne said. “This video game is the only thing that I’ve heard about where everybody loves it. This might be the most uniting thing that we’ve ever been around.”

Henderson, a former high school wrestling star with enough focus for an entire corps of linebackers, said he’s “feeling really good” with his progress since the injury, which he suffered late last season.

The video game, he said, only fuels him.

“I think it’s really cool that you get to hop on, whether it’s with your teammates, your buddies, anything, and just kind of sit there and talk a little trash to each other and play a video game,” Henderson said. “And then you get to wake up the next morning, and the reason you’re in that video game you get to pursue the whole entire next day. And to me, I think that’s just awesome.”

David Hall, david.hall@pilotonline.com.

Monarchs defensive lineman Denzel Lowry was named to the second team, as selected by the league’s head coaches and media members.

Henderson led the nation for the second straight season in tackles per game, averaging 14.2, and finished third in the country with 1.6 tackles for loss per game.

Henderson finished second in the country with 170 tackles, one behind Jay Higgins of Iowa, who played two more games than Henderson.

Henderson is college football’s active leader in career tackles, with 436. He’s 142 tackles away from breaking the FBS career record held by Troy’s Carlton Martial.

Lowry started all 13 games last season and led ODU defensive linemen with 46 tackles and four sacks. He also had 5 1/2 tackles for loss.

David Hall, david.hall@pilotonline.com

ODU predicted sixth in division

Old Dominion was picked sixth in the seven-team East Division, which Appalachian State was predicted to win. Texas State was named the West Division favorite.

James Madison, which finished atop the Sun Belt East in its first two seasons in the league, was chosen second in the division. The Dukes received two first-place votes and tallied 79 total points. App State claimed 12 first-place votes and 96 points.

App State’s Joey Aguilar was named the Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. He shared first-team preseason honors at quarterback with Texas State’s Jordan McCloud, who was the Sun Belt Player of the Year last season for JMU.

The Dukes’ first-team preseason honorees included offensive lineman Cole Potts and punter Ryan Hanson. JMU’s second-teamers were offensive lineman Tyshawn Wyatt, defensive lineman Eric O’Neill and defensive back Chauncey Logan.

East Division

(First-place votes), points

1. Appalachian State (12) 96

2. James Madison (2) 79

3. Coastal Carolina 67

4. Georgia Southern 50

5. Marshall 49

6. Old Dominion 32

7. Georgia State 19

West Division

(First-place votes), points

1. Texas State (9) 92

2. Troy (4) 68

3. Louisiana (1) 66

4. Arkansas State 65

5. South Alabama 54

6. Southern Mississippi 31

7. Louisiana Monroe 16

Staff reports

They’ll also return with a subpar 44-48 overall record and an 8-9 mark in the second half.

But minor league seasons, especially at the Triple-A level, aren’t best measured in wins and losses.

The defending IL and Triple-A champion Tides exist, essentially, to develop and funnel players to the parent Baltimore Orioles. And by that measure, it’s been another productive season.

The pipeline

Twenty players have played for both Norfolk and Baltimore this season, including four who have made their big league debuts.

The list includes three players who have spent time with Norfolk while on major league rehabilitation stints, another important function of the Triple-A level.

Who’s been good

Corner infielder Coby Mayo (.301), outfielder Heston Kjerstad (.300) and second baseman/outfielder Connor Norby (.296) are among the league’s top 10 in batting average.

The slugging Mayo, 22, is tied for third in the IL with 19 home runs and is third with a .983 OPS, though he’s yet to make his highly anticipated big league debut.

How hard does Mayo swing? Out of Norfolk’s fastest exit velocities this season, the top six all belong to him. Mayo’s 115-mph double on April 10 is the team’s hardest-hit ball this season.

Kjerstad, 25, was among the IL leaders in several offensive categories before he was recalled last month. He’s currently on Baltimore’s injured list with a concussion.

Norby, a 24-year-old former East Carolina star, hit .214 with a homer in a four-game June stint with the Orioles, the first of his career.

A frequently rumored trade piece as the loaded Orioles compete for another American League East title, Norby leads the IL with 163 total bases and 70 runs.

The kid

Top prospect Jackson Holliday, a career shortstop who continues to learn second base, had a disastrous major league debut. In 10 April games, the 20-year-old former top overall draft pick went 2 for 34 (.059) and was quickly optioned back down.

He’ll be back. Holliday is hitting .273 through 64 games with Norfolk, but his real success lies in his secondary numbers. Holliday, the son of former All-Star Matt Holliday, leads the IL with 72 walks (against 67 strikeouts), is second with a .442 OBP and is 10th with a .913 OPS.

The plate discipline that propelled Holliday through four levels of the minors last season is alive and well.

High times

Drawing 6,227 fans per home game, the Tides are ninth in the 20-team IL in average attendance. Their average attendance last season was just shy of 5,800.

With a variety of novel rebranding merchandise items available for sale, the team store is doing tremendous business as well.

Last month, merchandise sales were up 52% through the same number of games last season.

Take a bow

Tides manager Buck Britton got something this week that Triple-A managers rarely get: national TV exposure.

Britton, a former Norfolk utilityman, pitched to the Orioles’ Gunnar Henderson in MLB’s Home Run Derby. Henderson, who played for the Tides in 2022, was eliminated in the first round.

Winding down

The Nashville series is part of a nine-game, 10-day homestand. Next, Jacksonville comes in for six.

After that, remarkably, only four homestands remain this season.

David Hall, david.hall@pilotonline.com.

McDermott, 25, worked a quality start Friday at Memphis in his lone outing of the week to earn the honor. He is the first Norfolk player in Baltimore Orioles affiliate franchise history to win a weekly award four times in his Tides career.

McDermott, who also won IL Player of the Week on May 5 after taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning against Nashville, has posted a 3-5 record with a 3.70 earned-run average in 19 games with the Tides this season.

McDermott leads all minor league pitchers in strikeouts (128) while leading the IL in batting average against (.218) and ranking third in ERA.

McDermott also leads all Tides pitchers in WHIP (1.40), innings pitched (90) and games started (18). In 11 of his past 13 starts since the beginning of May, McDermott has struck out at least seven batters, highlighted by a career-high 12 on July 1 against Durham.

Through 26 career starts with Norfolk, McDermott, has struck out 192 batters, averaging 7.38 strikeouts per game.

Originally a fourth-round draft pick out of Ball State by the Houston Astros in 2021, McDermott came to the Orioles’ organization as part of a three-team trade that sent infielder/outfielder Trey Mancini to Houston.

The 6-foot-3, 197-pound McDermott is the seventh-ranked prospect in Baltimore’s farm system according to MLB.com.

David Hall, david.hall@pilotonline.com.

Then a senior guard, Jones committed a turnover that led him to hang his head.

Mario Mullen would have none of it.

Moments later, during a timeout, Mullen and teammate E.J. Sherod urged Jones to get his chin off his chest and told Jones he was going to make a key play.

When Jones then drew a momentum-swinging charge, Mullen and Sherod were there to help him up.

The Monarchs went on to upset third-seeded Villanova in triple overtime, advancing in the 1995 NCAA Tournament. It’s not likely it would have happened without Mullen’s 16 points, 10 rebounds and timely words of encouragement.

Jones, now the first-year head coach at his alma mater, is one of many among the ODU community in mourning. Mullen, who starred at Bayside High in Virginia Beach and ODU before becoming a high school teacher and coach, died Friday at age 50 after a brief illness.

A 6-foot-6 forward during his playing career, Mullen is remembered as a Swiss Army knife on the court with the ability to shoot, slash, pass, rebound and defend against more sizeable opponents.

“He was such a cerebral player,” Jones said Tuesday. “For someone to be as talented as he was that would be willing to do the dirty work, he was a phenomenal teammate. It was all about winning. I would coach 13 Mario Mullens if I could.”

Mullen taught special education and coached basketball at Ocean Lakes High. That came years after he averaged double figures as a highly touted freshman at ODU, earning All-Colonial Athletic Association freshman honors.

Odell Hodge, now an assistant to Jones, was Mullen’s roommate in college. The two remained close friends, even throughout Hodge’s lengthy stints playing and coaching in Europe.

Jones and Hodge visited Mullen in the ICU last week. Both thought he’d pull through, the way he did after a serious car accident briefly derailed Mullen’s playing career.

Instead, they were left in disbelief.

“It shook me to my core,” Hodge said. “I’m not going to see my mate again. It’s devastating. I can’t express that enough. But we’re all trying to be strong for each other.”

Funeral arrangements had not yet been finalized when Jones and Hodge spoke to media members Tuesday at the team’s practice facility.

Jones said he and athletic director Wood Selig had already begun discussing how the Monarchs might honor Mullen this upcoming season, whether it’s with a jersey patch or some other memorial.

When Jones was introduced as ODU’s coach in March, he’d spoken to Mullen the night before. Mullen told him he wouldn’t make it to the next day’s press conference.

When Jones entered the room at Chartway Arena, the first person he saw was his old friend.

More recently, Mullen had begun to get involved in ODU’s program.

Like all of his former teammates, Jones is wrapping his head around the fact that he won’t see Mullen again.

“It’s been rough, but it is what it is,” Jones said. “I hate to say it, but we’re all getting to an age where sometimes things like this — I won’t say are expected — but they’re not surprising. Mario was a little bit different because we had seen him just recently, and he was so excited for us and ready to jump two feet in and support everything we’re building here. So to have such a drastic change with him was very unexpected.”

David Hall, david.hall@pilotonline.com.

In addition to their traditional home whites and road grays, the Tides have or will have worn an “ORF” jersey to honor the city, a Marvel jersey to promote comic books and movies, a SEAL jersey to honor local Navy ties and a Pajaritos (Spanish for “young birds”) jersey to appeal to the Latin American community, among others.

The jerseys mix up the team’s look over the course of the season, and they give fans more choices when they step into Harbor Park’s team store.

But of all the alternate identities the team will have taken on this season, none was more thought-provoking than what the Tides wore Friday night.

Norfolk’s players started the weekend against Charlotte dressed as the Norfolk Red Stockings, a historical and sartorial nod to the city’s entry in the Negro Leagues in the late 19th century.

The gray jerseys with a large, red “N” were topped by gray hats with the same lettering. It was part of a Negro Leagues Tribute Night that included an appearance by Sam Allen, an 88-year-old Norfolk native who played with Willie Mays and Satchel Paige, among other luminaries, in the 1950s and ’60s.

Often, the people wearing the alternate unis aren’t aware of them until they get to the ballpark. These, Tides manager Buck Britton hopes, prompted some research.

“When you get into the locker room, that’s the first thing you notice because the jerseys are hanging up every day, is that there’s something unique going on today,” Britton said. “What is it? We have computers in our back pocket at all times, right? It pushes them to go dive in to what is actually the meaning behind all of this. And they learn. And we learn. And we get better as we learn, and the game continues to grow and people continue to grow. So I think it’s important.”

Of the 55 men to play for Norfolk over the course of this season, four are African-American. The Tides had three such players until recently, when one was injured and another was returned to Double-A.

Daniel Johnson, a 28-year-old outfielder from Northern California, is Norfolk’s lone remaining African-American player.

Johnson, who has spent parts of two seasons in the major leagues with the Cleveland Guardians, said he hoped to someday hear firsthand stories from former Negro Leagues players. But he’s well aware of their legacy and what they went through.

“I owe them all the respect because without them, I wouldn’t be here,” Johnson said. “And it goes even further than that for the little kids that are watching us now. We want to keep that going and pave the way for them, too.”

Before Friday’s game, Allen sat behind a table on the first-base side of Harbor Park’s concourse and greeted a steady stream of fans. He signed autographs, posed for pictures and sold items commemorating his time with the Memphis Red Sox, the Kansas City Monarchs and the Raleigh Tigers in the late ’50s.

Later, he’d head down for pregame festivities on the field, where he hoped to meet Johnson.

Allen, a Norfolk lifer, is among the last men who can remember playing in the Negro Leagues, which began to decline after Jackie Robinson integrated the major leagues in 1947.

Still, Allen said he appreciated that today’s players continue to honor his era.

“It means a lot,” Allen said between visitors. “But the only problem that I have is that we don’t have that many playing. I’m working to try to get more young Blacks back into baseball.”

According to the Associated Press, only 6.2% of players on MLB opening-day rosters last season were African-American.

Johnson said he played every sport growing up, finally gravitating to baseball. He’s done a deep dive into the game’s past, learning about the off-the-field difficulties of being a Black player in Allen’s day.

“Obviously, it’s years of history, having African-American players segregated at one point,” Johnson said. “Having the Negro Leagues to be where we are now, having them pave the way for us, it’s a special feeling.”

It’s the kind of lesson Britton hoped the uniforms would prompt. By season’s end, the Tides will have donned pink, orange, camo and green jerseys along with a variety of themed looks. They’re not likely to learn anything from wearing them.

“Everybody knows who Jackie Robinson is and what he did for the game, what he did for change,” Britton said. “But I think there’s a lot to learn in general of just the history of the game of baseball.

“It’s almost like baseball’s kind of been at the forefront of all this stuff. I think it’s special for the game. I’m proud to be a part of this game.”

David Hall, david.hall@pilotonline.com.

In a sport increasingly driven by statistics and oddball metrics, a new number has emerged at the Triple-A level: a player’s ABS challenge percentage.

Starting this week in Triple-A, all games are now governed under the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) challenge system. It replaces a hybrid system used at the minors’ highest level since the start of last season.

The difference: Until this week, coinciding with the start of the International League’s second half, the first three games of each six-game series have been played using “robo-umps.” Balls and strikes were called in those games using a series of precise, triangulated cameras, with the calls relayed to the umpires on the field.

In the final three games of each series under the old system, the calls were made on the field by the umpires using the naked eye. Pitchers, catchers and batters, if they disagreed, were able to challenge the call immediately. A video game-like graphic would then appear on the stadium’s video board showing the exact location of the pitch, and the umpires would rule accordingly.

Now, the latter system will be in place for the rest of the season, meaning umpires will make their calls and the players, if so moved, will challenge them. Moving forward in the IL, each team will have just two incorrect challenges per game. Correct challenges are unlimited.

The tweaked system is part of a movement toward using ABS in some form in the major leagues, which isn’t likely to happen before 2026, according to MLB’s commissioner’s office.

But players for the Norfolk Tides, who are a season and a half into using ABS, are all for the challenges.

“I enjoy the system,” said Norby, a second baseman and outfielder who estimates he’s been right on challenges about 40% of the time. “It harnesses in on what we’ve been learning in our time through the system: knowing your zone and everything like that.”

Mayo, a slugging corner infielder, agrees.

“I think it’s good for the guys who know the zone, and I definitely think it’s a step in the right direction,” Mayo said, adding that he’s had “more wins than losses” on challenges. “Sometimes with the ABS, a non-competitive pitch somehow clips the zone or a catcher catches a ball that makes it seem like it’s not a strike and it’s called a strike. I think the challenge is more of a realistic outcome for MLB in the future.”

Norfolk manager Buck Britton, following an organizational philosophy put in place by the parent Baltimore Orioles, encourages his players to challenge calls if they think they’ve been wronged.

Britton said he and his staff have access to individual players’ success rates with challenges, but they tend not to share them in order to maintain their confidence to keep doing it.

The philosophy is rooted in helping each player develop a better understanding of the strike zone.

“We pride ourselves on that,” Britton said. “And the only way you’re going to see if you don’t know it is to challenge and be wrong. And sometimes when you’re wrong, guys get a little uncomfortable. They get a little self-conscious, so they don’t challenge. So we want to free them up. Even if they do make a mistake, we have confidence that, ‘Go ahead and challenge again. We’re behind you.’ ”

When a pitcher, catcher or batter disagrees with a call, he challenges by tapping the top of his head within a couple of seconds of the pitch.

Challenges can’t come from the dugout, where teammates turn their attention to the video board as the challenge plays out within seconds.

A correct challenge elicits cheers from both the home fans and the dugout. Unlike in football, no officials are ducking under a curtain and peering into a replay camera for five minutes as play-by-play announcers vamp; the feedback is instantaneous and exact, much like in tennis.

“It’s fairly quick,” Mayo said. “I think it keeps the pace of play up pretty good. And now it’s only two challenges, so, yeah, I don’t think it’s something that’s going to keep the game going longer than it is, because I know they want to shorten the game a little bit. But I think it’s good for the game.”

Holliday, a 20-year-old middle infielder and the top prospect in the organization, has issued a handful of challenges this season and believes he’s won them all.

Holliday, the son of seven-time All-Star Matt Holliday, said he didn’t mind the robo-calls. But keeping the human element alive seems more realistic for future use.

“I think the challenge system has more of a chance to make it to the big leagues because there’s definitely value in having good catchers that are able to steal strikes and really control the game with that,” Holliday said. “I like the challenge system personally. I’ve watched baseball my whole life, and I can definitely think of a few times where guys would’ve definitely challenged balls and strikes. So I think there’s an accountability factor with the challenge.”

Norby, a former East Carolina star who, like Holliday, has had his first stint in the big leagues this season, said he’s spoken with IL umpires who embrace the challenge system to the point that they wish teams had as many as five per game.

“And I agree with them, especially if they plan on implementing it at the big-league level, which I think they absolutely should,” Norby said. “Because it is a good system. It’s fast. It doesn’t take away from the speed of the game, and it gives hitters something back, and even pitchers, right? You’re not in the hands of the umpire all the time.”

David Hall, david.hall@pilotonline.com.

As he’s attempted to transfer the ball from second base to first during pregame infield drills, the Norfolk Tides infielder has seen his throws sail high, wildly off-target and well short over and over again.

But it’s not that the 20-year-old Holliday doesn’t know what he’s doing out there.

He’s been making the throws with his glove.

Holliday, the top prospect in the Baltimore Orioles organization, has been restricted to a designated hitter role since he recently noticed pain in his right elbow, possibly in his ulnar collateral ligament.

Holliday started a throwing progression Wednesday, tossing softly from up to 90 feet. He’ll likely stretch out the distance as his body dictates his ability to do so.

But he’s under strict orders to get creative to avoid using his right arm during drills.

He’s found it counterintuitive.

“Obviously, that’s what you’re supposed to do, right? Field it and throw it,” Holliday said, laughing moments after alternately throwing the ball to — well, near — first base with either his glove or his bare left hand. “But I have enough restraint to not throw with my right arm. But yeah, definitely different.”

The top overall pick in the 2022 draft out of an Oklahoma high school and, until recently, the consensus top prospect in all of baseball, Holliday told some people associated with his agency that he’d felt discomfort.

He was advised to have it checked out. Had the Orioles’ training staff determined that the soreness was anything remotely severe, he’d most certainly have been sent to the club’s player development complex in Florida.

“This is one of the prized jewels of this whole place, so they’re going to slow-play it,” Norfolk manager Buck Britton said. “They’re going to let him hit. They’re going to make sure that we take care of a young kid. No sense in trying to push anything.”

The lefty-swinging Holliday, the son of seven-time All-Star Matt Holliday, entered Wednesday’s game against Charlotte batting .272 with seven home runs and 28 RBIs through 51 games with the Tides.

A 10-game audition with the Orioles in April proved disastrous: Holliday went 2 for 34 (.059) before being shipped back to Norfolk for further seasoning.

Since then, he’s made adjustments to both his stance and his swing load while focusing on hitting the ball to all fields.

Britton said the plan was for Holliday to make four to five plate appearances Wednesday, followed by a planned day off. He’ll then be in the DH role each full game until the International League’s All-Star break begins July 15.

Holliday went on Norfolk’s injured list on June 14. The Tides activated him as a DH on Tuesday.

Britton said the restraint is precautionary.

“There’s nothing structurally wrong,” Britton said. “It was just some soreness. We’re just going to make sure that he recovers well and he’s good to go whenever he starts playing both sides of the ball.”

Until then, the awkward, wrong-handed throws are likely to continue each time Holliday fields a pregame grounder.

Holliday, who signed with the Orioles for $8.19 million, said he wasn’t sore after playing catch Wednesday. But it was the initial fear that led him to go to the training staff.

“And I’m happy that I did, to be able to have some comfort knowing that everything is structurally great and no wear and tear,” Holliday said. “So I’m going to take some time and get it all healed up to hopefully make a run at the big league team after the All-Star break.”

David Hall, david.hall@pilotonline.com.