González offers advice and perspective as Orioles go from division champions to Wild Card team

MINNEAPOLIS – As injuries and hitting slumps dragged the Orioles out of first place and shifted their priorities to clinching the first Wild Card, bench coach Fredi González could feel manager Brandon Hyde’s pain.

González guided the Braves to the playoffs in 2012 and 2013, but after his 2011 club held an 81-55 record on Sept. 1 and lost 15 of its next 23 games. Starters Tommy Hanson and Jair Jurrjens, the latter a National League All-Star, were sidelined by injuries and the bats went cold, and the Braves were eliminated on the final day.

The subject of brutal stretches was bound to come up between the two men.

“We’ve had conversations with that,” González said. “He asked me, ‘Have you ever seen anything like this before?’ I turned around and said, ‘You remember 2011 when I was going through the same thing in Atlanta?’ And he goes, ‘What would you do? What did you do different?’ And we talked a little bit about that.”

The advice was relatively simple but hugely important. Be the same guy because 26 players are watching you.

“Every single loss or every single win they’re looking at you to lead and not be one of those guys who all of a sudden changes completely,” González said. “You’re throwing tantrums in the dugout, you’re being mean with the umpires. And you know what? To his credit, if you didn’t know our record and they dropped you from the moon, you couldn’t tell we lost five in a row or we won five in a row. And I think that’s one of the biggest strengths he had going through all this stuff.”

Hyde and González worked together in the Marlins organization. González is accustomed to seeing his friend become emotional, and at times it’s within view of media and fans.

The voice might crack, the eyes might water. It can happen because of an injury or illness. He choked up talking about Jorge López’s selection to the All-Star Game in 2022, excusing himself and leaving his interview session. His champagne toasts after clinches summon all sorts of feelings.  

“You know, he does that a lot,” González said. “He really takes care of his guys and he really cares about them a lot. You don’t see it publicly, but you’ll see the hugs, the pat on the butt. Bring him in the office, ‘Hey, you’re doing fine.’ Those conversations that you don’t see on television. That’s not out of character for him.

“I’ve seen him make speeches in front of teams and start crying, and I’ve seen him get really, really pumped up about wins and divisions and those sorts of things. He has stayed the same. One thing you want is for your team … this game is hard to play and you don’t want your players looking at the manager and going, ‘Who are we going to get today?’ And to his credit, he’s been the same guy the whole time.”

The Orioles can secure the home Wild Card tonight by beating the reeling Twins or if the Tigers lose to the historically bad White Sox. They lead Chicago 2-1 in the seventh.

A chance to repeat as division champions disappeared last night in the Bronx. The Yankees celebrated in the clubhouse and later on the field. The Orioles packed for the flight to Minnesota and intensified their focus on being the No. 4 team in the playoffs.

“I don’t know that there was any disappointment,” González said.

“The way the playoffs have gone here the last three or four years, it doesn’t matter how you get in. We’ve seen guys get in on the last game of the season and been World Series champs. We’ve seen guys who won divisions, like ourselves last year, and a couple of other teams that sat around for a week or so and got swept the first series. So I think the message is, let’s get in the dance and whoever the hottest team becomes at that time usually wins the Series.”