Gunnar Randal Henderson (born June 29, 2001) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

and third baseman for the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2022 and won the American League Rookie of the Year Award and a

Silver Slugger Award The Silver Slugger Award has been awarded annually since 1980 to the best Batting (baseball), offensive player at each Baseball positions, position in both the American League (AL) and the National League (baseball), National League (NL), as determ ...

in 2023. He was named an

All-Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

in 2024.

Early life and career

Henderson was born in

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama. Named for Continental Army major general Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River on the Gulf Coastal Plain. The population was 2 ...

, and grew up in

Selma, Alabama Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, in the Black Belt region of south central Alabama and extending to the west. Located on the banks of the Alabama River, the city has a population of 17,971 as of the 2020 census. Abou ...

, where he attended John T. Morgan Academy and played basketball and baseball. Henderson committed to play college baseball at

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 26,800 undergraduate students, over 6,100 post-graduate students, and a tota ...

during his sophomore season. As a senior in 2019, he was named the Alabama Player of the Year after batting .559 with 17

double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...

s, nine triples, 11 home runs, 69 runs scored and 75 RBIs while stealing 32 bases. Henderson was also named the Alabama Independent School Association Player of the Year in basketball after averaging 17 points and 11 rebounds per game. Two years after his graduation in 2019, his uniform number 2 was retired by the Morgan Academy baseball program on January 8, 2021.

Professional career

The

selected Henderson in the second round of the 2019 Major League Baseball draft with the 42nd overall pick. Henderson signed with the club for a $2.3 million signing bonus. After signing, he was assigned to the rookie-level Gulf Coast League Orioles. Henderson finished his first professional season with a .259 batting average, one home run, and 11 RBI. GunnarHendersonGCL

After the 2020 minor league season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Henderson was added to the Orioles' alternate training site midway through the Major League season and then took part in the team's fall Instructional League. Henderson was named the best overall athlete in the Orioles' minor league system going into the 2021 season. He began the season with the

Low-A Single-A, formerly known as Class A and sometimes as Low-A, is the fourth-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States, below Triple-A, Double-A, and High-A. There are 30 teams classified at the Single-A level, one for ...

Delmarva Shorebirds The Delmarva Shorebirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in Salisbury, Maryland. They are members of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. Their home games are played at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium. The Shor ...

and was promoted to the

High-A High-A, officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing, is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A and D ...

Aberdeen IronBirds and the Double-A Bowie Baysox during the year. Over 105 games between the three teams, he slashed .258/.350/.476 with 17 home runs, 74 RBI, 28 doubles and 16 stolen bases. Henderson began the 2022 season at Bowie. He entered the season as a consensus top-100 prospect across baseball. Henderson batted .312/.452/.573 in 157 at bats with eight home runs and 35 RBI with 41 runs scored in 47 games for the Baysox before being promoted to the Triple-A

Norfolk Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's loc ...

. On June 28, 2022, the day before his 21st birthday, he

hit for the cycle Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust or HIT, a fictional organization ...

in a 8–2 win over the

Gwinnett Stripers The Gwinnett Stripers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at Coolray Field in unincorporated Gwinnett County, Georgia ...

. Henderson was selected to represent the Orioles at the 2022

All-Star Futures Game The All-Star Futures Game is an annual baseball exhibition game hosted by Major League Baseball (MLB) in conjunction with the mid-summer MLB All-Star Game. A team of American League-affiliated prospects competes against a team of National League- ...

. The Orioles selected Henderson's contract on August 31, 2022, and promoted him to the active roster. He made the starting roster later that day, in a game against the

Cleveland Guardians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. Since , the team has played its home gam ...

. His first major league hit was a home run off of Triston McKenzie Henderson batted .259 with four home runs and 18 RBIs in 34 games with the Orioles in 2022. Following the season, Henderson was named the 2022 Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year. The honor came after Henderson hit .297 with 19 home runs, 76 RBI, and 22 stolen bases in 112 games split between Bowie and Norfolk.

2023

On June 11, 2023, Henderson hit a 462-foot home run against the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

, which was the farthest ever hit onto Eutaw Street in the 31-year history of

Camden Yards Oriole Park at Camden Yards, commonly known as Camden Yards, is a ballpark in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the home of Major League Baseball (MLB)'s Baltimore Orioles, and the first of the Baseball park#Retro-classic ballparks, "retro" major le ...

. He had a pair of four-hit games in his

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

season, beginning with a 14–1 away win over the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

on July 6 when he also had two homers and five RBI within the first four innings. The other was a 12–1 victory over the Athletics at the Coliseum on August 20 when he was a single away from becoming the first rookie in Orioles history to

, but got his second double of the game instead. He went 6-for-12 as the Orioles' best hitter during the ballclub's American League Division Series (ALDS) loss to the Texas Rangers. He finished the 2023 regular season with 28 HRs, 82 RBI, .814 OPS, and .255 AVG. On October 26, 2023, ''

The Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...

'' announced Henderson as their AL Rookie of the Year. Henderson was named the 2023

Major League Baseball Players Association The Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) is the labor union representing all current Major League Baseball (MLB) and Minor League Baseball (MiLB) players. All players, managers, coaches, and athletic trainers who hold or have held ...

Outstanding Rookie of the Year. He won the American League's

for utility players. Henderson unanimously won the American League Rookie of the Year Award.

2024

Henderson was awarded the March/April American League Player of the Month Award in recognition of his strong start to the 2024 season. In 29 games, Henderson slashed .291/.356/.624 with 10 home runs, 24 RBI and six stolen bases. A day after his 23rd birthday, Henderson announced that he would be taking part in the 2024 Home Run Derby. Henderson was selected to his first All-Star game in 2024. He finished the 2024 regular season with 37 HRs, 92 RBI, .893 OPS, .281 AVG, and 21 stolen bases, all career highs.

2025

On March 12, 2025, Henderson's contract was unilaterally renewed by the Orioles.

References

External links

, o
The Baseball Cube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henderson, Gunnar 2001 births Living people 21st-century American sportsmen Aberdeen IronBirds players American League All-Stars Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Montgomery, Alabama Bowie Baysox players Delmarva Shorebirds players Gulf Coast Orioles players Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award winners Major League Baseball shortstops Norfolk Tides players