Early reports from Orioles players bode well for Craig Albernaz’s chances of success

Some may consider it risky when an MLB team hires a first-time manager. Yet, in the modern game, first-time managers have become much more commonplace and Baltimore Orioles skipper Craig Albernaz is already getting some great reviews from players.

A few players were asked about Albernaz recently, and they were all very positive in their initial impressions of Albernaz. That's not too surprising, as it wouldn't be very good form to bad-mouth your manager before his first game as a skipper, but star shortstop Gunnar Henderson's remarks speak for most of the other players surveyed:

"He seems like a really great guy. The interactions we've had today have been great. I’m super pumped to have him along and really looking forward to getting into it with him.”

Pitcher Tyler Wells also referred to Albernaz as a "straight shooter," so the players seem to be impressed by the first-time big league manager so far.

Orioles seem to have knocked Albernaz hire out of the park after initial reviews

Albernaz really did pay his dues before being hired by Baltimore to turn the team around after a disappointing 2025 campaign. He worked his way through various coaching gigs in the minor leagues before being hired by the San Francisco Giants as the team's bullpen and catching coach.

He spent two seasons as Stephen Vogt's right-hand man in Cleveland before being hired by the Orioles so he has a pretty typical resume for a big league manager.

Albernaz has a reputation for being very personable and easy to get along with. That's obviously a huge asset for a manager as he has to juggle so many disparate personalities and ages.

His connection to Vogt is a huge plus since Vogt won American League Manager of the Year honors in each of the past two seasons with Albernaz as his bench coach and associate manager, so teams are clearly looking at the success that was enjoyed in Cleveland and are trying to replicate it with their own teams.

Albernaz has placed a lot of emphasis on preparation and attention to detail, which was a hallmark of the Giants teams that were coached by manager Gabe Kapler. Even though Kapler was a polarizing personality, Albernaz and other coaches on that staff were able to squeeze just about every ounce of production out of that 2021 Giants team that won 107 games.

Thankfully for the former minor league backstop, he has some talent to work with this season. Gunnar Henderson is a star, and Jackson Holliday, Samuel Basallo, Dylan Beavers, and Coby Mayo could help form a young core.

The addition of slugger Pete Alonso obviously adds a lot of thump to the lineup and takes some of the pressure off the younger guys.

Albernaz has inherited a pretty solid situation in Baltimore, and he has the opportunity to take things to the next level. The players seem to already be behind him, which is a nice start.