BALTIMORE — The Orioles unveiled new manager Craig Albernaz Tuesday morning from a restaurant located on the ground floor of the warehouse, an oddity necessitated because parts of Oriole Park at Camden Yards and its adjoining office buildings are under construction.

Bigger, better and newer things are coming to Baltimore baseball, and the Orioles believe Albernaz is one of them.

The 43-year-old Massachusetts native, flanked by president of baseball operations Mike Elias on one side and majority owner David Rubenstein on the other, wore an orange O’s pin on his suit lapel, cracked jokes and told the throng of media and Orioles employees assembled to get used to seeing his three small children, who were present along with wife, Genevieve, as they’d be around a lot.

Albernaz pledged that the Orioles would “play an exciting brand of baseball” and teared up when discussing his time in Cleveland with close friend and manager Stephen Vogt, who traveled to Baltimore to sit front-row and watch his ex-bench coach shine.

The pair had been in the Tampa Bay Rays organization together, catching bullpens and dreaming of someday coaching together like they had the past two seasons in Cleveland.

It was in Tampa that Rays manager Joe Maddon had told Albernaz, if you’re honest with a player, he’ll be mad at you for a day. If you lie to him, you’ll lose him forever.

Albernaz, who relayed the line in his thick Massachusetts accent, isn’t afraid to have tough conversations. Last year, he took himself out of the running for manager jobs with the Miami Marlins and Chicago White Sox because he wasn’t sure he was ready, and he needed to be sure. Albernaz spent the past year as an associate manager and was present in every meeting and conversation Vogt had.

Vogt said they managed together. Albernaz likened it to a final apprenticeship. His first solo act won’t be easy.

The Orioles didn’t expect to find themselves here, ushering in a new era of Baltimore baseball after winning 91 games in 2024 and 101 in 2023. Baltimore’s fall was so swift that manager Brandon Hyde was fired before June, necessitating a change that sees Albernaz at the helm while Rubenstein still pays Hyde — a former AL Manager of the Year — in 2026.

Albernaz is not entering a rebuilding job, like the Marlins or White Sox would have been. He’s jumping to a team that wants to win the American League East, one that has a fan base that has been waiting more than a decade for a single playoff win and a young core that desperately needs to get back on track. Albernaz will have to hit the ground running.

“He’s the hardest worker I’ve ever been around,” Vogt said. “The hours that he puts in, the time that he puts in, he’s prepared for everything. He’s over-prepared. He knows people, and a lot of this job that’s seen on TV is about five percent of what it takes, and the 95 percent that isn’t seen, he’s going to absolutely crush and bring people together and create an unbelievable winning culture here.”

Albernaz was a hot commodity on the managerial circuit, drawing interest from multiple other clubs again this winter. It allowed him to be deliberate and thorough, a fact that Albernaz joked probably drove Elias crazy. But he had to be sure the Orioles job was the right fit, a decision that seemingly came after the O’s had long since made up their minds. Rubenstein said everyone they talked to agreed that Albernaz was the guy, but that they may not be able to get him.

“We knew in Cleveland we wouldn’t have him long,” said Guardians assistant general manager Matt Forman, who was one of a handful of people Albernaz personally thanked. “He just has a genuine, authentic approach and a likable personality that allows him to connect with all kinds of people.”

Asked what he would like to see the team add in the offseason, Albernaz talked about letting Elias “cook.” With his 2-year-old daughter, Gigi, on his lap for part of the presser, Albernaz used the nonsensical phrase “6-7” when asked how many O’s players he had talked to, then laughed and claimed his two sons put him up to it. He cracked multiple jokes, including about his 5-foot-8 stature, and with Rubenstein, who later mentioned that Elias won’t have payroll constraints in improving the roster.

If there’s one lasting online image of Albernaz from Cleveland, it’s of him tossing sunflower seeds at Vogt — who encouraged the local media to stay on Albernaz — when the pair were in the dugout.

Stephen Vogt was not having it 😂 pic.twitter.com/FUq2w6QlTQ

— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) July 5, 2025

“He challenged me to think differently,” Vogt said. “The seed toss was because I threw out a dumb idea and he called me on it and I yelled at him about it, and so he threw seeds at me and it went viral. But that was us every day.”

Forman agreed that the seed incident perfectly captured “Alby’s” ability to bring levity to certain moments, and praised Albernaz’s mix of self-confidence and curiosity.

An undrafted free agent, Albernaz played eight seasons for the Rays and one in the Detroit Tigers’ system, reaching as high as Triple A. The 43-year-old began his coaching career for the Rays shortly thereafter and will be the youngest Orioles manager to take the helm since Earl Weaver did so in 1968 at age 37.

“He’s a really creative thinker,” Forman said. “He respects certain baseball truisms but also has an open mind and is willing to think outside of the box on other things, and I’m excited to watch what he comes up with now as a manager.”

So is the entire city of Baltimore.

Albernaz, who also referenced the Ravens and quarterback Lamar Jackson, spoke about playing to players’ strengths and maximizing the current personnel. He said all the right things in a nearly 45-minute introduction in which Rubenstein and Elias also made it clear that the organization is committed to getting back to October.

“When you start coaching, you don’t think about being a big league manager. At least I didn’t,” said Albernaz, who also spent time coaching for the San Francisco Giants. “But as you navigate your relationships, navigate certain teams and you can kind of see that’s something that you want to do — the ability to run a team, and to do it in such a historic franchise as the Baltimore Orioles — it really is a dream come true. I just can’t wait.”