Inside The Orioles

Tony Mansolino Asserts Braves 'Rescued' Him From Orioles

A comment from former Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino is raising eyebrows.
Baltimore Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino (36)
Baltimore Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino (36) | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

In a September 29 article from Roch Kubatko of MASN, Tony Mansolino (who was then the Baltimore Orioles' interim manager) made it clear how much he wanted to remain within the Orioles' organization as their manager.

“This is a great place, it’s a historic franchise, it is a place that gave me my first full-time big league job, so ideally I get to stay here in a lot of ways. I’m very comfortable with the people here, I have a lot of respect for the people here. Maybe most importantly, I love a lot of these young players, guys who have been here and grown with myself and also kind of helped raise in a lot of ways here," Mansolino was quoted as saying in the article.

“So ideally, yeah, I get to stay... Again, there’s a lot of loyalty and there’s a lot of love from me to this organization. So I’m a loyal person, I love this place in a lot of ways, I’m very thankful to it. I’m open to all options," he continued. Mansolino even noted that he'd be willing to stay within the organization in an assistant coaching role.

Of course, this ended up not happening, as Baltimore made Craig Albernaz their manager less than a month after these comments from Mansolino.

Craig Albernaz is introduced as the new Baltimore Orioles manager
Craig Albernaz is introduced as the new Baltimore Orioles manager | Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images

A few weeks later, news broke that the Atlanta Braves had hired Mansolino to be their new third-base coach.

Read more: Expert reaction to Orioles' Craig Albernaz hiring speaks volumes

Tony Mansolino's Strong Claim About Orioles Tenure Raises Eyebrows

Mansolino, who is now helping prepare the Braves for their spring training debut, did an interview with Chris Dimino of "680 The Fan" that was posted on X on February 20.

At one point in their discussion, Mansolino said, "I take a lot of pride in being able to read the room and understand my surroundings. So, I don't think [his connection with Braves manager Walt Weiss] could have gone any better at this point. Just thrilled to work for him."

He then added, "Being here, coming out of the situation that I just came from — and I don't say this lightly — I feel like [Weiss] kind of rescued me, in a lot of ways, and got me into this place. And I just couldn't be any happier."

Given how much Mansolino seemed to want to stay with the Orioles' organization just a few months ago, this comment is sure to irk many members of Baltimore's franchise and fan base.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers the New York Mets and Women’s Basketball for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco, where he also played Division 1 baseball for five years. He believes Mark Teixeira should have been a first ballot MLB Hall of Fame inductee.