SARASOTA, Fla. — Craig Albernaz was not happy, and he let the player know it. A few hours later, Pete Alonso wasn’t happy, and he let the rest of the infield know it.
There is a direct line between those two moments Tuesday — the first when the Orioles manager made his ire known to catcher Samuel Basallo during a pregame situational fielding drill, and the second when the first baseman called a mound visit to get everyone’s heads in order.
Albernaz and Alonso are newcomers to this organization. The way Albernaz and Alonso hit it off during a meeting in December is a large reason why Alonso chose Baltimore as his free agent destination. They appreciate honestly. They expect accountability.
And they are willing to be the voices who deliver it, even if that message must come in the middle of an exhibition game against Team Netherlands.
“Hey, we need to clean up,” Alonso recalled telling his teammates after beckoning them to join him in the second inning of a game that doesn’t count. “If we want to go far in the playoffs, it’s all about doing the little things right, even now.”
Left-hander Trevor Rogers was on the mound. The Netherlands were on their way to scoring four runs against Baltimore’s ace, and they were aided by a few mishaps. Baltimore ended the game with four errors.
Moments earlier, Rogers’ wild pitch trickled behind home plate. He struck out Druw Jones even with that dirt ball, but as Jones ran to first, Basallo’s throw was off line and late. One batter later, Ray-Patrick Didder doubled to right-center, and Alonso felt it was time to talk.
He joined Rogers on the mound. He waved in Basallo. He pointed to Jeremiah Jackson and Bryan Ramos and Aron Estrada — everyone to the mound.
“He was sort of like, ‘We aren’t playing with the energy we need to play,’” Rogers said. “Coming from a veteran like that on March 3, really hammering down [that] we need to play with energy … he’s going to help us a lot, especially telling us we need to pick up the slack.”
One batter later, Ceddanne Rafaela hit a three-run home run, but what mattered more at this stage of the spring is how Alonso showed again what sort of presence he can be.
“He was seeing the same thing we all were seeing,” Albernaz said, “so for him to be that leader and bring everybody in, calm everybody down, that was good to see.”
Orioles first baseman Pete Alonso (25) jogs back to the dugout with teammates in the middle of the first inning of a spring training game against the Detroit Tigers on Feb. 22. (Ulysses Muñoz/The Banner)
And the impromptu meeting showed it’s not all on Albernaz, even if Albernaz was the primary voice during pregame defensive drills.
With runners on the bases and Albernaz calling out situations, a faux double traveled down the left-field line. The tying run was running home, all the way from first. The throw home skipped past Basallo, who didn’t use his body to block it, and Albernaz didn’t accept the fact it was only practice.
He told Basallo, in more colorful wording than this, to block the ball next time because the winning run was on second. Two plays later, when Basallo returned with a nice catch and tag of a runner, Albernaz heaped on the praise to recognize the improvement.
Games are won and lost by those details. Alonso and Albernaz — among others — are taking active roles in ensuring those behind-the-scenes moments don’t turn into something graver. And while they aren’t shy to criticize, they are equally as supportive when the moment dictates it.
“It’s just getting in good habits,” Alonso said. “If you play clean baseball throughout the year, good things happen, and especially if you have that habit of playing clean baseball, then it becomes second nature. Now in camp, we just need to lock in on it and just play clean baseball. It’s just a good habit. It’s just winning culture.”
Alonso said he learned many of those lessons as a young player from Todd Frazier and Robinson Canó with the New York Mets.
“Not just the playing stuff, but how can you lock in on a day in, day out basis for 162 games,” Alonso said.
He is now one of those older players. The 31-year-old is a five-time All-Star and signed a five-year, $155 million contract with the Orioles this winter. The early indications during spring training have been that Alonso is confident in voicing his opinion.
Alonso is boisterous during live batting practice sessions, both by cheering for his teammates and bantering with the pitchers. He has taken to occasionally writing an inspirational quote on the whiteboard near the clubhouse.
But Alonso was quick to point out he’s not alone. Others can step in to be the leadership presence this team appeared to need.
“It doesn’t just have to be a veteran,” Alonso said. “Iron sharpens iron and just having that rapport with people where it’s like, hey, you can hold each other accountable and not get your feelings hurt, that’s super productive and great. It doesn’t matter how you deliver it, just that the message is delivered and people are receptive and pulling in the same direction.”