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NORFOLK – Connor Norby’s long-awaited first taste of the major leagues brought with it a lesson that had less to do with learning the intricacies of the game at the highest level.

It was more about the realization that, as the former East Carolina star always knew, he belongs up there.

Norby, a 24-year-old second baseman and outfielder, has spent one full season and parts of two others with the Norfolk Tides. His contract was finally selected on June 3, when Orioles infielder Jorge Mateo went on the seven-day injured list the same day with a concussion.

Norby played second base in four major league games, batting .214, hitting his first MLB home run, and playing impeccable defense.

The short stay confirmed what he had always suspected.

“The most important thing I learned is that I can play at this level,” Norby said a day after returning to the Tides. “I always thought I could, and this solidified it for me. And I think I showed a lot of people that I can.”

Few doubted him, and with good reason. In 138 games with Norfolk last season, Norby posted a .290 batting average with 21 home runs and 92 RBIs, and tied for the International League leader with 40 doubles.

Norby, a second-round draft pick from ECU in 2021, entered Saturday night’s Triple-A game against Memphis with a .286 batting average, nine home runs and 36 RBIs after playing in 53 games with the Tides this season.

Although Norby has proven himself in Triple-A, he is one of several players caught in the big league traffic jam of the Orioles’ crowded minor league system.

Baltimore’s farm is considered by many to be the best in the game, and as the reigning AL East champion and current contender, the major league club isn’t exactly short of warm bodies.

When the speedy Mateo, a five-year major league veteran and perennial Gold Glove candidate, returned, Norby was no longer needed. The Orioles sent him back to Norfolk on Tuesday and he arrived two days later.

This has been a familiar refrain for Tides players over the past few years.

According to Norfolk manager Buck Britton, keeping Norby clear-headed upon his return will likely not be a problem.

“They know full well we have one of the best teams in Major League Baseball, so it’s tough to go up there and crack it,” Britton said. “But the next time the opportunity comes, I know he wants to be the best. So I don’t think it’s going to be tough to kind of keep him around. And he’s that type of player anyway. He plays with a chip on his shoulder, a grinder type of guy. He’s probably one of the guys on the totem pole in terms of concern, for sure.”

As is often the case, Norby’s appeal was not easy. The night he received the news, he was home in Virginia Beach after a game. After packing, he finally went to bed around 1:30 a.m.

Norby and left-hander Nick Vespi, whose contract was also selected, were picked up around 4:20 a.m. and driven to Washington, where they boarded a flight to Toronto around 10 a.m.

He played that night and managed 0 out of 3 on his debut. But even though the game flew by, he didn’t look for excuses.

“It was a really long day,” Norby said. “I was exhausted. My adrenaline was through the roof. I probably had too much caffeine for our strength coaches’ liking. I felt like I hadn’t seen a pitch until my third at-bat of the night. But by the third at-bat, I felt a little more comfortable, had a little more of my legs. I tried to take it as slow as I could at that point.”

Norby hit a ball hard against former Tides right-hander and Blue Jays star Kevin Gausman, which boosted his confidence.

The next day, when he was back in the lineup, Norby asked some veteran players a simple question: “Will it feel a little more like baseball today?”

“They said ‘yes,'” Norby said. “And they did. Every day I went back there, it felt more and more like baseball.”

That second night, Norby got his first major league hit, a two-run home run off reliever Nate Pearson. He played in two more games, including one at Tampa Bay, before being sent back.