'We're all one': Orioles make united stand

With tears in his eyes, the weight of what’s happening in the world was plain to see on Orioles manager Brandon Hyde’s face. Less than an hour prior, his club had decided not to play its scheduled series finale against the Rays, as the two teams joined 12 others across MLB Thursday in attempting to bring further attention to police brutality and systemic racism. The second-year manager fought for the words to explain what was another whirlwind afternoon in a calendar year full of them.

“I think you try to lead the best you can,” he said, choking up.

On Thursday, he did that by listening to the collective will of his players as activism spread across the landscape of professional sports. Since protests erupted nationally following the killing of George Floyd in late May, Hyde and the Orioles routinely supported players who spoke out about social issues, encouraging the kinds of difficult conversations in his clubhouse that the country is having at large. He vowed to do the same at various points this week, as the NBA, MLB and other leagues sat out games to protest the shooting of Jacob Blake by a Kenosha, Wis., police officer.

That news first reached the Orioles on Wednesday afternoon, less than an hour before first pitch for the second of their three-game series against the Rays. It led to preliminary discussions between Hyde, several players and other Black members of the Orioles’ traveling party, but ultimately, the timing did not allow the Orioles to take action. They went along with what turned into an eventual 4-3 loss that, speaking afterwards, outfielder Cedric Mullins admitted “was definitely hard to push through.”

“There are a lot of things bigger than our game right now,” Hyde said at the time, saying the Orioles would meet again on Thursday as a team. “I will support them in whatever they want to do.”

By the time they met as a group on Thursday afternoon, four MLB games had already been postponed via player-driven decisions. The Orioles initially voted unanimously to play, according to Hyde and others who were present. But the sentiment changed when those discussions moved to the batting cage, leading to a players-only meeting where some felt they could speak more freely.

The Orioles decided in that meeting not to play, roughly an hour prior to first pitch. Hyde supported that decision and informed the Rays, who did as well.

“We all bleed the same blood. We’re all one and we’re all the same. That is the message right now,” said righty Dillon Tate, one of the five Black players on the Orioles’ active roster. “I have a voice, just as my teammates do. Yes, I’m African American. But me being a member of the team has a bigger piece of the picture.”

Neither the Orioles nor the Rays know yet when the game will be made up; they have one head-to-head series remaining, set for Sept. 17-20 in Baltimore. But to hear Hyde and his players speak about the chain of events, those particulars are beside the point. More important was standing in solidarity with Black men and women across the country impacted by systemic racism and police brutality. And about making a statement they hope changes perspectives.

Within the clubhouse, some already are.

“I think in the beginning I thought you had to be one side or the other … And I just don't think that was the right way to look at things now,” said Orioles righty Alex Cobb, who has a brother who is a police officer. “I will always respect every single person that puts on a uniform and goes out to protect us. But I also have had too many moments where I look into my teammates’ eyes or my friends’ eyes, and I can see they're dealing with some real struggles and that their hearts are heavy. We need to find a way.”

Said Hyde: “It's my job to support our players and to communicate with our players as well as I possibly can. And I feel that we've done that. I'm really proud of our players. I'm proud of how they've acted throughout this whole difficult year.”