Brandon Hyde had some interesting things to say about his Orioles tenure.
Former Baltimore Orioles manager Brandon Hyde spoke publicly for the first time since being fired last May, and his words carried real emotion.
Hyde, who now works as a senior advisor for the Tampa Bay Rays, met with Orioles reporters during spring training in Port Charlotte, Florida last week.
It was the first time he had seen the team since his dismissal on May 17, 2025, when the Orioles sat at 15-28 and in last place in the American League East.
"I wish I could've done more, and would've done more," Hyde said, reflecting on the tough start that cost him his job.
"It started really in spring training for me with injuries, lost a bunch of guys in spring, and then the first series of the year we lost a few key players and just never got going."
Hyde's Tenure Told Two Very Different Stories
Hyde was hired in December 2018 and took over a franchise deep in a painful rebuild.
He managed through a 108-loss season in 2019 and a 110-loss campaign in 2021, absorbing the kind of losing that most managers would not survive.
But by 2022 things started to click, and the Orioles posted their first winning record in six years.
In 2023, Hyde led Baltimore to 101 wins, the American League East title, and took home the AL Manager of the Year award.
The Orioles made the playoffs again in 2024, winning 91 games and earning a wild card spot.
Hyde finished his time in Baltimore with a 421-492 record, which ranks fourth among all Orioles managers in franchise history.
The 2025 Collapse Was Not on Hyde
What makes Hyde's quote so interesting is that the Orioles' problems in 2025 went far beyond what a manager could control.
Baltimore lost ace Corbin Burnes in free agency and replaced him with aging arms like Charlie Morton and Kyle Gibson, both of whom struggled badly before Hyde was let go.
The Orioles went 0-16 in games started by Morton and Gibson before the firing, and five of the eight free agents the front office brought in that offseason posted negative WAR.
Injuries piled up from the very first series of the year, with key players like Colton Cowser and Albert Suarez going down in the opening week.
The team ended up using a franchise-record 70 players over the course of the 2025 season and finished 75-87, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2022.
A New Chapter in Tampa Bay
Hyde said he is grateful for the opportunity with the Rays, where he works closely with manager Kevin Cash and president of baseball operations Erik Neander.
His role keeps him closer to his home in Venice, Florida, and allows him to work throughout the organization's farm system.
Still, Hyde made it clear he wants to manage again someday and is hoping the right situation comes along.
Meanwhile, the Orioles have moved on and made big offseason additions like Pete Alonso, Taylor Ward, Shane Baz, Chris Bassitt, and closer Ryan Helsley as they try to bounce back under new manager Craig Albernaz.
Hyde said he looks back fondly on his time in Baltimore, calling his six-plus years "great" and remembering what it felt like to be one of the best teams in baseball for two straight seasons.
But the way it ended still stings, and his parting words tell the whole story of a manager who cared deeply about a team that was set up to fail.