Orioles players stunned as season proceeds without Brandon Hyde

Nothing about Saturday, May 17, 2025, was fun for the Baltimore Orioles organization. Not for the front office, the players, or the fans. The Orioles lost another game, their 29th in 44 played this season, but that was secondary to the news that dropped before Baltimore's 10-6 loss to the Washington Nationals.

The Orioles relieved manager Brandon Hyde of his duties Saturday morning, an inevitable outcome given how Baltimore has played. There were expectations of competing for a championship in 2025. Those have flown out the window, as the O's enter play Sunday with the second-worst record in the American League.

The mood was somber in Baltimore's clubhouse before and after Saturday's game. Orioles players know they are truly to blame for Hyde losing his job. Regardless, it wasn’t easy for them to say goodbye to their skipper of the past six seasons.

“It's tough. You hear about stuff like this happening, but to be a part of it's definitely different,” Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman said, per Jake Rill. “I build relationships with people in baseball. You become really close and feel like a family with everyone on the team and front office, training staff, coaches, and analytics department, all of it. We view it as one, and it’s tough.”

Hyde was the only MLB manager for a lot of Baltimore's players, having been at the helm since 2019. Many of the young players on the roster took his firing hard, including Gunnar Henderson.

“I know, for myself at least, he’s been my only manager, so hate it for him," Henderson said. "A lot of guys know we should have won more games, so it sucks in time, but the reality is, got to go out there and continue to play baseball."

Cedric Mullins, Baltimore's longest-tenured player and a leader in the clubhouse, claimed some personal responsibility for Hyde's departure.

“It’s a tough scenario," Mullins said after Saturday's game. "I feel like I failed him in a way, just not being able to perform continuously and help get us some wins across the board. That’s what it’s about. It’s the business.”

Orioles' interim manager believes Baltimore can salvage season

Tony Mansolino's first game as interim manager of the Orioles did not end with a victory. Baltimore lost for the 11th time in May and the 18th time across its last 24 games. More of the same hampered the Orioles, starting with another brutal Kyle Gibson outing on the mound.

The veteran right-hander failed to make it out of the first inning, surrendering six runs to the Nats. It's hard to imagine Gibson staying with the Orioles much longer with a season ERA of 16.78 after four starts.

Baltimore again lost a game where they recorded double-digit hits, failing to take advantage of runners in scoring position. The Orioles left six men on base and were 4-for-10 with runners in scoring position. They didn’t score until the seventh inning on Saturday.

Mansolino was in his fifth season as Baltimore's third base coach. He's not too thrilled with his new job title.

"Not excited. This isn't a good thing for us. We're going to miss Brandon in a lot of ways. To me, he did a great job here," Mansolino said, via Andy Kostka. "To get to this point where a change is made, it's not something that any of us wanted, by any means."

Mansolino laid the groundwork for how the Orioles can revive the season. He wants them to focus on getting back to .500, then maybe there's a late run at a playoff spot. After all, there are 118 games left in the season.

Even with the dismissal of their manager, the Orioles' roster remains a tight-knit group. It ultimately falls on them to turn this season into a positive. They certainly aren't going to go down without a fight.

“It sucks [that] it’s as a result of us sucking, but we’re going to continue to try to go out there every single day and fight, because the season’s not over. The season’s not lost," starting pitcher Zach Eflin said. "We’re going to go out there with our hair on fire and do everything we can to win baseball games.”

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