Father's Day 'very special' for Alby -- O's manager, son and dad of 3
LOS ANGELES -- Father's Day has always meant a lot to Orioles manager Craig Albernaz.
"It’s a very special day. Not as special as Mother’s Day. I like my life, all right?" Albernaz said with a smile.
Sunday provided another opportunity for Albernaz to not only honor his own father, Norman, but for his three kids to celebrate him. As many fans around Baltimore have learned since Albernaz was hired last October, the skipper has a pair of sons (9-year-old CJ and 6-year-old Norman) as well as a 2-year-old daughter named Gigi.
Albernaz is a baseball lifer. Raised in Somerset, Mass., he went on to become a catcher at Eckerd College before playing nine Minor League seasons in the Rays and Tigers systems. He's also a longtime coach, having climbed the ranks before landing his first MLB managerial job with the Orioles prior to the 2026 season.
But Albernaz knows he wouldn't have made it this far without the support of his father.
"I just go back to the sacrifices my dad made for me as a kid to play baseball and chase my dream," Albernaz said. "There were times where my dad worked every single day so he could keep his vacation days for baseball season, and also worked some overtime so he could pay for me to do some things as far as baseball. So that’s something I’m always appreciative of and indebted for for him. Just the support that he’s always shown me throughout my life, and especially during this career path.
"Now that I’m a father myself, I try to be half the dad my dad was to me."
When Albernaz reflects on his own experience as a father, he's always quick to credit his wife, Genevieve -- whom he frequently refers to as the "rock star" of the family. She keeps everything under control during baseball season, when Albernaz is traveling around the country with the O's.
Asked to look back on his most memorable moments as a dad, Albernaz went back to the births of each of his three children and how special it was to welcome them to the world.
"I remember when it was one, then there was two and now three. It’s one of those things where it makes your heart full," Albernaz said. "Someone told me when I first started having kids, 'The days are long, but the years are fast.' And that’s so true. I can’t believe how fast my kids are growing, maturing. It’s so much fun, and it’s just a blessing to have them."
The kids have made sporadic trips to visit the Orioles during Albernaz's first year at the helm. They spent a week at the team's camp during Spring Training, and they have followed their dad to some games, including a three-game series in Pittsburgh in early April.
CJ and Norman have quickly become baseball fans due to their dad's job, and it may not be long before Gigi is old enough to follow suit. (They all three routinely don Orioles gear, as you would expect.)
"My kids love baseball. It’s so much fun," Albernaz said. "They always want to go to the field early. They always want to go to the field, hit in the cage, go out in the field, throw, and that’s something I wasn’t sure how that was going to go, if they were going to like baseball or if they were going to not like it because Daddy is always away. But they love baseball, they love watching."
And they also love the O's, now that their dad is the one in the dugout making important decisions.
"They love our team, and they love being in Baltimore, it’s so much fun," Albernaz said. "Being able to bring them to the field and have them around the guys, it’s something that’s so special."