After a bad start to the season, the Baltimore Orioles fired manager Brandon Hyde on Saturday, widely regarded as the most disappointing start for any team in the Major League Baseball team.
Although no manager was fired against a game, Hyde's final game was the last game at the helm, losing 4-3 on Friday against the Nationals - surely in line with the genre of defeat, the last straw for the captain in the hot seat. National starter Mackenzie Gore left for the fourth time, Baltimore only had a future run against the Washington Bullpen, which entered the 6.75 ERA with a 6.75 ERA, ranked 29th in the MLB. Facing another struggling team that lost eight of its last nine games, the Orioles stranded 15 runners and failed to maintain a 3-2 lead in seven innings.
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There were two outs and a base open at the top of the eighth place, and Oriole left-hander Keegan Akin paid the price for Nationals racer James Wood as Wood hit a center-cut fastball on the left center wall for a home run. There were two knockouts at the top of the ninth place, and Washington took the lead when Baltimore's close-range Felix Bautista failed to timely cover first base on Nasim Nunez Chopper on the right. At the ninth bottom, Jackson Holliday's single was immediately wasted when Holliday was stolen, and Cedric Mullins watched the third strike, a shocking double hit, a certain doom in Baltimore.
Baltimore fell to 15-28 due to losses, the fourth-win record in baseball. Its negative 75 ranks 29th in the sport and is only ahead of the terrifying Rockies in history.
With less than a week in Hyde's sack, the Rockies let go of Black, Pittsburgh evacuated from Pittsburgh for two weeks, splitting the way with Derek Shelton, the first time since 2002, and firing three managers by early June. But Hyde contrasts sharply with what led to Black and Sheldon's shooting. Colorado and Pittsburgh both got into a bad start based on both organizations’ troubling performance records and objectively people’s lineup. The results are not shocking for both teams, given the reality is that when the bad team is not good enough, the manager is usually fired.
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As far as Hyde and Baltimore are concerned, we have reached the breakup on a completely different route, although this still raises questions about Hyde being a fall. The Orioles have not entered the season's 100-hit sport, such as the Rockies, nor have they had a decade-long playoff drought like the Bucs. Instead, the organization reached a series of crossroads in 2025, successfully launching from the depths of its extreme reconstruction, but still not accomplishing anything in October.
It is worth noting that Hyde has been in all the jobs, becoming a rare manager, surviving the long rebuilding process, then leading the playoff team, overseeing a 110-shot team in 2021 and a 101-win team two years later. Hyde was appointed AL Manager of the Year in 2023 because Baltimore directed Baltimore to the Al East champion shortly after living in the district basement, which seemed to be a sign of the job when Orioles opened their window of argument. With David Rubenstein taking over new ownership in 2024 and having a very deep post player core merger at the major league level, the Orioles seemed to have one of the brighter futures in the league not long ago.
Instead, Baltimore had no doubt in a row of playoffs and then started a painful start this year, which completely reshapes the organization’s trajectory. It seems that the mild things toward stagnation suddenly get worse, and it is a huge step in the wrong direction, forcing the franchise to make some tough decisions. The firing of Hyde was the first move like this, despite the justification for questioning Hyde’s club leadership to manage buttons, which is the main source of Baltimore’s shortcomings this season.
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“As the head of the baseball business, our season is ultimately my responsibility,” said Mike Elias, executive vice president and general manager. “Part of this responsibility is pursuing tough changes to establish different courses for the future. I want to thank Brandon for his hard work, dedication and enthusiasm for returning the team to the playoffs and winning the AL East title over the years. He has made many positive contributions to the organization and retaining Baltimore and hopes that he and his family are the best.”
Earlier this month, despite the tough April, Elias expressed support for Hyde. “I’m very confident in Brandon Hyde,” Elias said. "When we encounter failures, it's consistent with your approach, which is also important in this job and in my job. He's doing that."
With support from Hyde, Elias has been loyal to the way he has been working, and the spell for a long time a good, analytical tendency process will bring results. However, as the losses accumulate, Elias can no longer eliminate the results. Some things don't work, something has to be changed. But, in his own words, Erias assumed the ultimate responsibility. So with Hyde's doors, the spotlight burning in GM's suspicious roster construction, it's Birdland's most worrying trend.
The Orioles, who ranked far-off pitchers in almost every major category, fell to the bottom of the American League, was largely a bad pitcher: No. 28 in the ERA, No. 26 in the Whip, No. 26 in the FWAR, to name just a few. This is a completely predictable weakness, and it is based on inflexible actions (or lack of) to address the ace-size holes left by Corbin Burnes. However, Baltimore's rotation is worse than anyone could have expected. The damage of Grayson Rodriguez and Zach Eflin certainly didn't help, but the situation of deep losses in gaining and developing is the basic reality of MLB team building, and Elias has flatly failed on this task.
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It's not just pitching either. Baltimore is ranked 19th in WRC+ and 25th in every game Friday. Baltimore's biggest offensive offensive type in the offseason, Tyler O'Neill, has .605 OPS and has two home runs. Receiver Adley Rutschman retreated for the third straight season. Although there is still significant talent in the offensive aspect of the ball, which feels good for the advancement in Baltimore, it is clear that this highly respected position playing group has been disappointing to date. What was collectively underperformed was the failures at all levels of the organization, from players to coaches to Elias’ front desk, all participants needed a major reassessment to get back on track.
As for Baltimore's immediate next step, third base coach Tony Mansolino will take over as interim manager. Mansolino, 42, joined the Baltimore coaching staff in 2021 after coaching and managing at multiple levels in the Cleveland Guardians organization since 2011. Relatively less experience elsewhere in the current staff - backup coach Robinson Chirinos in his first year as a major league coach - he will continue to be a member of Mansolino, although he can certainly know whether he can master it, whether it is neither, whether he is willing to accept it, whether it is neither known to be a long-term manager of the Orioles.
If not, Baltimore could be a coveted landing point for the Captain next winter. Competition at Al East is a tough challenge, but it is still a franchise with a lot of encouraging infrastructure that can attract some senior candidates.
For now, though, the players trying to save O's Nightmare Season are O's. It still has a lot of talent to do so, but it is the hills that climb.