SARASOTA, Fla. — One player’s voice floated above the rest.

“Oh, good pitch,” he called to Dean Kremer after a splitter.

“No one plays there,” he yelled when Dylan Beavers poked a would-be opposite-field single through the infield during a live batting practice session.

This was the first workout after pitchers and catchers reported to spring training, although most position players had arrived early to prepare for the Orioles’ 2026 season. Still, as this new group of teammates began building camaraderie, the immediate presence of Pete Alonso, Baltimore’s newly signed first baseman, was abundantly clear. He yelled, he hit, he stood — anything he did, the eyes followed him.

The moment Alonso signed a five-year contract that featured the highest average annual value ever given an Orioles player, the attention was bound to follow him. He’d be viewed as an integral clubhouse presence and a leader.

Turns out, he embraced it.

It is only February. Some players are still trickling into camp. But what is certain is that Alonso is living up to the hopes built into a contract of that size. Not only do his Orioles teammates and coaches see him as an impactful figure in the middle of the lineup, but Alonso appears ready to fill a role that faced questions throughout 2025.

“I think that’s just the type of guy he is,” right-hander Shane Baz said. “He’s been working all day. So I think he’s a guy who’s going to set the example and be vocal when he needs to and just a guy who does a lot of stuff the right way that guys can look at and say, ‘That’s probably what I should be doing.’”

In his morning address to the team Thursday, manager Craig Albernaz asked for more players to follow Alonso’s lead. He welcomes his players talking “a little crap,” because it sparks competitiveness and “keeps guys accountable, too.”

Perhaps the Orioles were missing that edge in 2025. As Baltimore stumbled at the start and struggled to stabilize, there were questions as to who could stand up and deliver a rousing speech, the kind that could jump-start a lagging club.

Infielder Jordan Westburg was frank in his assessment of the clubhouse in August when he said it would behoove the Orioles to add a leadership presence in the offseason. “It would be good to have a veteran voice,” Westburg said at the time.

“I do think it would be good to have a personality going forward, whatever adjective you want to use: polarizing, loud, boisterous, whatever. But just something different,” Westburg said. “I think it would be beneficial, because as you mentioned, it frees people to be themselves. The important part is bringing in somebody who had that personality, and we’re not forcing them, like, ‘Hey, we need you to be loud,’ because then it is just adding pressure on top of what they already have.”

Then Alonso showed up and started chirping at Kremer when Beavers got the better of him.

The display seemed vital as a tone setter, for the beginning of this new amalgam of players and coaches with big ambitions. But it goes beyond the yelling — there are quiet moments when action is more important, or when on-field production takes the place of empty sentiment.

Alonso could bring all of that. He’s not alone, of course. In their own ways, Westburg, catcher Adley Rutschman and shortstop Gunnar Henderson are leaders. They’re more inclined to show it rather than telling it to a teammate, but it’s there. And Kremer emerged in a bigger leadership role as last season progressed.

There are never too many leaders, however, especially when there is no cookie-cutter shape of leadership that works for everyone.

“I’m very encouraged from what I’ve seen so far and in conversations with him,” Kremer said of Alonso. “It’s been really good. I think he’s going to bring a lot to this team. I really do. Both production on the field and off the field, I think he’s going to be very important for us.”

Alonso’s new teammates have known him for days or weeks only, but the first impressions were positive.

“Just his presence when he walks in the room and when he’s on the field and stuff, it’s great,” Baz said. “It’s a big presence, and you notice it right away. Just seems like he has a great personality too and just wants to win.”

“He brings the energy, obviously, and he’s a super positive guy,” Beavers said. “I think he’ll hold everyone accountable this year, and I’m excited to be his teammate.”

The messaging from Alonso to his teammates has yet to come in stirring speeches. The time for that isn’t now, when hope and confidence are the prominent emotions surrounding the dawn of a new season. But in his way Alonso is helping teammates move on from the disappointment of a 2025 campaign in which he played no part.

Last month, Alonso proclaimed there will be a “new Oriole Way” under Albernaz. He didn’t divulge what that meant, but right-hander Tyler Wells provided more context.

Wells spoke of the need for players to focus less on what other people think they can’t achieve and more on what they can. It’s a simple switch in frame of mind, and yet it can make a large difference.

It’s too soon to tell if these impacts will last long, but the early signs are Alonso’s voice carries through that clubhouse. He didn’t seek any grandiose gestures as he ingratiated himself with his teammates. Instead, he boiled down his leadership tactics in this way.

“One thing is, show up, work every day, connect with people,” Alonso said. “And the second thing is, when the season comes around, you just go out, produce and win.”

Sounds simple, right?

Simple can work.