Orioles manager enjoys Bay Area return
Baltimore Orioles manager Brandon Hyde, an alum of Montgomery-Santa Rosa and Santa Rosa Junior College, “absolutely” loves returning to the Bay Area, but said there is one drawback.
“The pass list is long,” Hyde said in his pregame news conference in the first-base dugout at the Coliseum on Sunday morning. “I think I coach for free here, from a ticket standpoint.”
Hyde, who turns 50 on Oct. 3, is in his fifth season leading the Orioles. He endured a 54108 record in 2019, his first year. Two seasons later, the Orioles went 52-110.
With an influx of strong young players including catcher Adley Rutschman, first baseman Ryan Mountcastle and infielder Gunnar Henderson, Baltimore began Sunday with the best record in the American League at 76-47 after a 7-2, 10-inning win over the Oakland Athletics on Saturday night.
Hyde’s parents, Barry and Lucy, still live in Santa Rosa. Hyde said his family and friends have become devout followers of Baltimore telecasts. That meant the Orioles’ off-day Thursday in the Bay Area was somewhat disappointing.
“Everybody was joking around that it was going to be a boring evening because there was going to be no Orioles game on,” Hyde said. “Everybody watches. They follow it extremely closely, so that’s been enjoyable for me.
“The text threads are long and lengthy after all of our games, so to be able to see (family and friends) in person when we come out here is a lot of fun.”
Hyde recalled coming to watch the A’s at the Coliseum in the “McGwire, Canseco, Carney Lansford, Terry Steinbach days” of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Wearing the orange and black of the Orioles does align with his childhood allegiance.
He said he pulled for the San Francisco Giants’ orange and black of the “Will Clark/Matt Williams/Hac Man, Jeffrey Leonard” era.
The Orioles and Hyde have done well in the Bay Area this season. They took two of three from the Giants in China Basin in early June and were looking for a three-game sweep of the A’s on Sunday.
A's roster moves: Before Sunday’s game, Oakland put reliever Austin Pruitt on the 15-day injured list because of a strained right forearm and recalled reliever Dany Jimenez from Triple-A Las Vegas. Pruitt (2-6, 2.98 ERA) has not allowed a run over his past 12 outings, accounting for 142⁄3 innings.