He had moments when he wanted to shout at the sky, moments when he was too tired to leave his office, and moments when he questioned why he had ever put himself through this suffering.
“Pain, a lot of pain,” Brandon Hyde says to USA TODAY Sports in a gentle manner. Many evenings passed and I wondered how I would manage. Although I was happy with the approach I was taking, losing so much makes you take things personally.
Before making the Baltimore Orioles manager position one of the most desirable in all of baseball, this was my my life as a manager.
But running the Orioles for those first three years was like taking punches from Mike Tyson.
Night. Following evening. following each and every night.
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Naturally, Hyde, 49, was aware of what he was getting into when he agreed to take the position following the 2018 season.
No amount of Chanel, Baccarat, or Clive Christian fragrance could ever mask the odor of the job.
In the winter of 2018, six managerial vacancies surfaced, with this one being the worst.
The Orioles are now among the strongest teams in baseball,, thanks to the management of Brandon Hyde, who took over the team in 2024.
With just 115 games played, the Orioles were 61 games behind the leaders in the AL East and had lost star baseman Manny Machado.
Recently, Manager Buck Showalter and General Manager Dan Duquette were sacked, and their player payroll was drastically reduced.
It was so awful that Hyde wondered if he should even bother, having lost four other jobs during the winter, when the Orioles called him for an interview. Should he accept the position or just go back to being the bench coach for the Chicago Cubs?
“He questioned whether he should accept the position at all,” stated former Cubs manager Joe Maddon, who also had Hyde on his coaching staff. “Hell yeah, never turn that down,” I assured him. You must accept it.
“Brother, this is going to be awful,” I remarked. It will be awful. It’s going to make you angry. You’ll be wondering, “Why?”
However, it’s also in the ideal location. Just take your time. You’ll finally make it right. You’ll get the opportunity to use your approach and flair. What story do you want to be told about this?”
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The Orioles were as bad as one could have expected. In Hyde’s debut season, they went 54-108, falling 49 games short of the top spot.
The COVID-19 2020 season followed, with a 25–35 record.
In 2021, the losing streak persisted as they finished 52 games short of first place with a record of 110.
“I talked to Joe a lot, and I leaned on him,” Hyde remarked. Joe provided great help. He served as a fantastic sounding board for me during my difficult moments.
