Miguel Cairo played 17 major league seasons for nine teams. He played with some of the biggest names in recent baseball history \u2014 Wade Boggs, Fred McGriff, Albert Pujols, Ryne Sandberg, Ichiro Suzuki, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa.<\/p>\n
He played for three of the winningest managers of all-time \u2014 Dusty Baker, Tony LaRussa and Joe Torre.<\/p>\n
So, the Orioles\u2019 infield coach clearly recognizes greatness, and thinks Gunnar Henderson can be among those greats.<\/p>\n
\u201cGunnar is an elite shortstop,\u201d Cairo said at Yankee Stadium before the final scheduled game was rained out on September 27th. \u201cIf you think about all the errors that he made, it was routine, a little routine double play. He knew what he was doing wrong \u2026 He will be better.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a winner. He likes to work. He worked really hard. He plays the game the right way. Every single day he shows up \u2026 He sometimes is hard on himself, a little too much. I want to have 26 guys like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cairo was most visible when the Orioles were on the field. He stood near manager Craig Albernaz, motioning players into their correct position. By necessity, he twice had infielders who\u2019d never played there before.<\/p>\n
On June 22nd when the Orioles were in Anaheim playing the Los Angeles Angels, Blaze Alexander had to leave the game, and with Coby Mayo as the designated hitter, outfielder Leody Taveras was inserted at third for five innings The ball found Taveras only once, and he successfully fielded the grounder.<\/p>\n
Cairo was especially active, repositioning Taveras for every batter.<\/p>\n
On September 8th, Carlos Narv\u00e1ez, who\u2019d never played second base, was moved there for the ninth inning of a game against Cleveland. Fortunately, he didn\u2019t have a chance, though that didn\u2019t stop Cairo from being active.<\/p>\n
In a tough year for the Orioles, he thought Mayo and Jackson Holliday made strides at third and second.<\/p>\n
\u201cCoby Mayo, for not playing last year, he was playing first, he came back,\u201d Cairo said. \u201cHe made major improvements playing third base.<\/p>\n
\u201cJackson Holliday made major improvements. He didn\u2019t even have a spring training. You\u2019ve got six weeks to get ready, to see live pitching, working on defense, working on baserunning.\u201d<\/p>\n
Holliday, who had surgery to remove the hamate bone from his right wrist in February, had his spring training in minor league rehab games. He had surgery after the season ended on his left wrist.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe last three months, he improved really quick,\u201d Cairo said. \u201cFirst step, he was securing the ball. He was making the plays, double\u00a0 plays got better. Everything got better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pete Alonso\u2019s first base play was also better.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was very simple. It was just being an athlete,\u201d Cairo said. \u201cLast year, he was squatting at first, trying to be close to the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cairo wanted that changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou just need to be an athlete. You need to be able to move your feet,\u201d he told him. \u201cBe able to rebound, and I think that\u2019s what he did. It worked for him, and he kept doing it, and it was better, a really good version of Pete Alonso playing first base.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cairo, who was infield coach for the first half of 2025 and interim manager for the Washington Nationals in the second half, saw the Orioles\u2019 infield defense improve late in the season.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery two months, we got better,\u201d he said. \u201cWe played very consistent defense at the end of the season.\u201d<\/p>\n
Besides being the Nationals\u2019 interim manager for the final 72 games in 2025, Cairo took over for an ill LaRussa and guided the Chicago White Sox for the last 34 games in 2022.<\/p>\n
With his managerial experience, he thought Albernaz improved throughout the season.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe did a really good job,\u201d Cairo said. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to remember, and I don\u2019t want to make excuses for it, we got a lot of injuries in the beginning of the season, pitchers and position players out of position \u2026 He deserved a lot because he did a really good job as manager. For a first-year manager with all the expectations, he did a really good job.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cairo doesn\u2019t often talk about his wide-ranging playing career and the all-timers who were his teammates.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis game, you have a short memory. This game is so negative,\u201d Cairo said. \u201cYou take one thing every day positive. what you do right and you keep going. You always see what the stuff that you have to improve. You work on it, but you want to master the thing that you do good. You master those things and you keep going.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomething that I learned from Albert Pujols is you have to take every at-bat like it\u2019s your last at-bat you\u2019re going to take in your career. At the end of the season, you\u2019re going to see, your numbers, they\u2019re going to be there.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s a mindset. You\u2019re going to play every game like it\u2019s the last game you\u2019re going to play, and you play to win. Sometimes you\u2019re going to go 0-for-4, sometimes you\u2019re going to make errors. A lot of times if you stay consistent, you\u2019re going to get some hits. You play to win, and you\u2019re going to get some notice.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n