Orioles manager’s ‘pissed off’ sentiment about 2025 season speaks volumes
The Baltimore Orioles fell to 74-84 on the 2025 season after their 6-2 defeat to the Tampa Bay Rays on September 24.
While the franchise and its fan base obviously want to see Baltimore finish the season off strong (especially during their final home game against the Rays on Thursday), the bottom line is that these final four contests are meaningless, given that Baltimore has long been eliminated from playoff contention.
And many fans surely feel like the 2025 season ending this weekend is a welcome respite, given how much frustration the Orioles have facilitated over the past five or so months.
And nobody has had a better vantage point of this frustrating campaign than interim manager Tony Mansolino.
Mansolino took over for Brandon Hyde on May 18, when the team had a 15-28 record. While the Orioles started the Mansolino era off with a brutal 4-8 record, they have been playing good baseball ever since, which is shown by their 55-48 record.
It remains to be seen whether Mansolino will be taking on the Orioles’ managerial job in 2026, as the front office is still mulling that decision over.
Tony Mansolino Gets Brutally Honest About 2025 Season
Mansolino deserves a lot of credit for being a straight shooter. And this was the case once again when he reflected on the lessons that he and his team learned from this 2025 season before Baltimore’s September 24 game.
“I hope these guys are pissed off and I hope that they’re hungry, and I know that they are. I hope this has been very eye-opening to them, on what it takes to win at this level and how slim the margins are,” Mansolino said, per an X post from Andy Kostka of The Baltimore Banner.
There’s no doubt that this year has been a wake-up call for the Orioles’ young roster, given that they probably expected to sustain the same success they had during the 2023 and 2024 regular seasons.
Several Orioles position players (such as Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, and Jackson Holliday) will need to perform closer to their potential in 2026 if this team is to contend for the AL East.
And the front office will also need to make shrewd offseason acquisitions — especially regarding the pitching staff — to address the weaknesses this year’s team had.
Time will tell whether Mansolino is around to see these changes next season.
