The Orioles will introduce Brandon Hyde today as the 20th manager in club history during a noon press conference at Camden Yards. Executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias, hired a month earlier, will join Hyde in the auxiliary clubhouse.
Hyde brings 16 years of professional coaching experience, though only one game as a major league manager. He was the Cubs bench coach in 2014 and 2018 and the first base coach from 2015-17 after serving as Marlins bench coach from June 2010 through the 2011 season.
Sitting beside Jack McKeon and Joe Maddon must have provided a nice education.
Elias also had to like the experience that Hyde gained as the Cubs minor league field coordinator and director of player development, Single-A Greensboro's hitting coach and the Marlins minor league infield coordinator. He's also managed in the minors and the Arizona Fall League and guided Double-A Jacksonville to the Southern League championship in 2009.
There won't be any conflicts between Elias and Hyde regarding the implementation of analytics. Hyde is regarded as a solid communicator. He's been viewed as managing material and interviewed for jobs with the Twins, Reds and Rangers before Elias chose him over five other candidates.
I found it interesting that Astros bench coach Joe Espada declined an opportunity to interview with the Orioles. He was anointed the early favorite as soon as Elias joined the front office.
So what else do we want to know today?
Someone is going to ask Elias when he decided on Hyde. Hyde will be asked when he was offered the job. And we'll see how it lines up with reports at the Winter Meetings that began last Monday.
What separated Hyde from the rest of the pack?
Hyde can address the coaching staff, including how he will or won't target a bench coach with past managerial experience. And whether anyone from the 2018 staff could return.
What did Hyde learn from McKeon, Maddon and others and how can he use it to aid in the rebuild? What is his level of familiarity with the personnel in the organization?
How much patience can his body hold? Because he's going to need a lot of it.
The presser will be carried live on MASN and 105.7 The Fan, and across Orioles digital platforms that include Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
Davey Johnson is the last Orioles manager to finish with a winning record, going 186-138 from 1996-97 before his resignation. Ray Miller was 157-167, Mike Hargrove 275-372, Lee Mazzilli 129-140, Sam Perlozzo 122-164, Dave Trembley 187-283, Juan Samuel 17-34 and Buck Showalter 669-684.
A 115-loss season dragged down Showalter, who shouldn't be judged by his final record. It doesn't define his tenure in Baltimore, which includes three playoff appearances and a division title.
Hargrove didn't suddenly become a bad manager after leaving Cleveland. Compare the rosters.
Mazzilli had the Orioles in first place for 62 consecutive days before he was fired on Aug. 4, 2005 in Anaheim, the first in-season dismissal with Peter Angelos as majority owner. He never landed another managing job and I can't recall hearing him referenced as a candidate.
Turmoil kept finding the Orioles as Mazzilli tried to navigate the choppy waters.
Pitcher Sidney Ponson was arrested in his native Aruba in December for assaulting a local judge and served 11 days in jail. Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro were called to Capitol Hill in March to testify before a House committee investigating steroid use in sports. Palmeiro was suspended 10 days for violating the league's steroid policy, and Mazzilli was fired later in the week.
Before Johnson, the last Orioles manager with a winning record was Johnny Oates (291-270) from 1991-94. Phil Regan was 71-73 in the strike-shortened 1995 season.
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