Past the 100-game mark as Orioles interim manager, Tony Mansolino reflects on finding stability

Tony Mansolino hoped he might be a big league manager one day, but not like this.

The first time he sat in the manager’s chair for a press conference, it was right after his former boss, Brandon Hyde, was kicked out. Tabbed as the interim manager for a team mired in a dismal start, Mansolino got a dream job in nightmarish fashion.

Mansolino has since passed the century mark of games managed for the Orioles. Although he wasn’t excited for the position on May 17, that didn’t mean he wouldn’t give his all each day in charge.

In the nearly four months since Mansolino took over Baltimore on an interim basis, the club hasn’t achieved the sort of magical turnaround Mansolino initially floated. He had hoped the Orioles could get back to .500; they still aren’t there (68-77) and might never be at this late stage in 2025.

But in the 102 games with Mansolino as manager, the Orioles are 53-49. That’s something. As Mansolino considered the work he has done — although he quickly pointed out this stabilization took the full effort of every player and staff member — he can be proud.

He took over when the Orioles were reeling, at 15-28, which prompted Hyde’s firing. Mansolino may not be a front-runner in the managerial search, especially with Ryan Flaherty and Skip Schumaker as potential options. But he has built a case to at least be considered by general manager Mike Elias this offseason.

“What I’m proud of is just that we stayed competitive,” Mansolino said. “We haven’t been whole the whole year. This isn’t the team that they set out. Pitching, position players, the whole deal. And you look up and 3 1/2 months later, which is kind of where we’re at, we’ve played to a winning record during this time.”

This week, Mansolino slightly amended his publicly stated goal, instead saying his target was to “get Baltimore out of the ‘bad news’ section and get us into the ‘good news’ section. I do think we’ve accomplished that in a lot of ways,” the 42-year-old said.

“My whole goal has just been to make the seat better for the next guy, whether that’s me or whether that’s somebody else,” Mansolino continued. “And I do feel like, with the help of a really good staff — a staff that has absolutely coached their butts off here over the last 3 1/2 months — I feel like we have done that.”

Mansolino has dealt with many of the same issues that afflicted Hyde’s management, with injuries and individual underperformances rife. And, although Mansolino and many players within the Orioles clubhouse hoped to keep the team together at the trade deadline, a sell-off forced Baltimore into re-creating its bullpen, especially.

Despite those setbacks, the ship is buoyant once more, even if the ballast isn’t at its ideal level.

“He’s done an awesome job,” first baseman Ryan Mountcastle said. “The communication has been there with all the players, and everybody knows their role, and I just feel like we’ve been playing pretty well and he’s been doing great.”

Mountcastle isn’t alone in praising the work of Mansolino. He and right-hander Dean Kremer, two of the longest-tenured Orioles, commended the interim manager for rallying a team that could’ve collapsed.

“He’s built a rapport with pretty much every guy in this room over the last four or five years he’s been here,” Kremer said. “He’s built a rapport with all the position players, for sure, and even with a lot of the pitchers who have been here for a couple years. So, having familiar faces, that helps a lot.”

Kremer and Mountcastle said they welcome the idea of Mansolino remaining in Baltimore next year, whether that involves his return to an assistant coaching role (he was the third-base coach) or means a permanent managerial title.

They understand that decision isn’t one they will make. But from what they’ve seen — the way Mansolino communicates, handles game management and instills confidence in his players — he is deserving.

“I’d love to have him as manager, a coach, any way possible,” Mountcastle said. “I think he’s a great guy for the clubhouse.”

Added Kremer: “I think his personality is well suited for the managerial role. He’s a very good communicator. There’s never any doubt whether you’re still in the game, if you’re not in the game, whether you’ve done your job or not. He knows how to pat you on the back, and at the same time he knows when to tell you, ‘Hey, we need you to step up. You need to pick it up.’ So I’ve really enjoyed working for him.”

Players, especially when speaking on the record, are generally supportive of their managers — it’s prudent, after all, to back the one who decides who plays. Many within the Orioles clubhouse supported Hyde through the turbulent opening two months of the season.

But, when considering the stance from Mountcastle, it’s noteworthy in a way because his playing time has been reduced. When Mountcastle returned from injury in August, he was informed Coby Mayo would receive most of the playing time at first base in an effort to improve his defense at a new position.

That left Mountcastle, a premium defender, looking mostly at days as the designated hitter. In 28 games, he has started at first base in only five. And yet Mountcastle has accepted the changing role partly because of how Mansolino approached the conversation.

“He was super open with it and let me know everything going on,” said Mountcastle, who later added: “Whatever happens, it’s somebody I would want to have as a coach, and whoever gets him, if he stays here, whatever happens, they’re going to be happy with him as a coach.”

As the Orioles consider who they will install as their next manager, it remains to be seen whether Elias will favor an experienced presence such as Joe Maddon or an up-and-coming voice in Flaherty or Schumaker.

Or, just maybe, the internal option will prevail. Mansolino has steadied the ship. Given the situation he inherited, that was no easy feat.