Tag: gunnar henderson

AL Rookie of the Year Gunnar Henderson picks Auburn to win NCAA Tournament

The former Auburn signee still has love for the Tigers.

[autotag]Gunnar Henderson[/autotag] was expected to be a key piece of Auburn baseball’s 2019 signing class, joining signees such as [autotag]Trace Bright[/autotag], [autotag]Mason Barnett[/autotag], and [autotag]Bryson Ware[/autotag]. However, he turned pro after being selected 42nd overall by the Baltimore Orioles in the 2019 MLB draft.

Despite never playing a game at Plainsman Park, Henderson’s love of Auburn athletics has never wavered. His NCAA Tournament bracket can prove it.

Henderson revealed his bracket on Monday, showing surprising picks such as James Madison making the Final Four and Duquesne making the Sweet 16. However, the best pick of all is his choice for national champion… the Auburn Tigers.

Henderson predicts that Auburn, Tennessee, North Carolina, and James Madison will make the trip to Phoenix, Arizona this year for the Final Four, with Auburn taking down SEC-rival Tennessee to win it all.

The Selma native was the top signee of Auburn’s No. 11 signing class for the 2019 recruiting cycle. Outside of being the best player from Alabama that year, he was the nation’s No. 4 shortstop and the No. 19 prospect overall according to Perfect Game.

He made his Major League debut with the Orioles on Sept. 2, 2022, and has racked up 32 home runs and 100 RBI since then, batting .256. Last season, he hit .255 with 28 home runs and drove in 82 runs while fielding over .960 at both third base and shortstop, which led to unanimous American League Rookie of the Year honors.

Do you agree with Henderson’s bracket picks?

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Gunnar Henderson hilariously passed up hitting for a cycle to take an extra base hit and his teammates were so baffled

Gunnar Henderson might unintentionally be the funniest player in baseball for this

Somebody needs to talk to Gunnar Henderson, man. He denied himself a pretty great achievement for no good reason at all. It’s actually pretty hilarious.

The Orioles were up 10-1 against the Oakland Athletics on Sunday and Henderson did the most ridiculous thing he could possibly do.

He was only one single away from hitting for a cycle against the A’s. He’d done the hard part of getting the homer, the triple and the double. And, finally, at the top of the 8th inning, Henderson got himself another base hit.

RELATED: Austin Hays hammered a homer that bizarrely got stuck in the A’s foul pole.

Now, one would think that he’d just stop at first base and get himself that elusive cycle that so many players would love to have. Nope. The dude scurries past first base and notches himself another extra-base hit.

The fact that he did this isn’t even the best part. It’s the fact that his teammates were baffled that really makes it great. Just look at their faces.

The best part is that he doesn’t even really care. Like, at all. You can see it in his face. As hilarious as this is, you can do nothing but respect it.

Honestly, he’s not wrong here! Look, I’m all for the cycle. And I certainly would’ve stopped here. But there’s no reason that this shouldn’t count as a cycle, right? It’s not a single, but he did get the base he needed.

It doesn’t count, but this is a cycle in all of our books, Gunnar. Don’t worry.

TCU wide receiver Gunnar Henderson invited for Saints rookie minicamp tryout

TCU wide receiver Gunnar Henderson invited for New Orleans Saints rookie minicamp tryout, not to be confused with the Baltimore Orioles shortstop:

Here’s another one: former TCU wide receiver Gunnar Henderson accepted an invitation to try out at New Orleans Saints rookie minicamp in the weeks ahead, per The Spun’s Tanner Phifer. He’s not to be confused with the Baltimore Orioles shortstop.

Henderson is a marginal athlete by pro standards — he weighs in at just 5-foot-7 and 174 pounds, without the speed to compensate (having timed the 40-yard dash in 4.56 seconds for a mediocre 2.07 Relative Athletic Score). Someone with that slight of a frame ought to be able to scoot.

Maybe the Saints are looking for more diversity of body types and skill sets at minicamp. Henderson was used more often as a run blocker than a threat in the passing game, having been targeted just 17 times last season (a career high), catching 11 passes for 223 yards, with most of his yardage coming off a single 62-yard grab. He didn’t see much action on special teams or in the return game, either, so he has an uphill battle ahead in earning a contract offer.

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Orioles’ Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson somehow corralled easy pop-up after wild bobble

Even accidental teamwork makes the dream work!

In a surprising 76-71 season in Baltimore, the Orioles might have the makings of a bright future if they stay patient. Should Baltimore evolve into a bona fide contender in the coming years, it might happen thanks to the efforts of young players like baseball’s former No. 1 prospect Adley Rutschman and burger-loving Gunnar Henderson.

On Tuesday night against the Tigers (-1.5), the pair “teamed up” on a wild bobble that almost became a complete disaster for Baltimore. When Detroit’s Willi Castro sent a ball up into the air for what should have been an easy pop-up out for the Orioles, Rutschman and Henderson both found themselves in a position to make a play.

The bad news is that the miscommunication led to a bobble from Rutschman when Henderson’s glove and arm weren’t quite out of his way. The good news is that Rutschman showed impeccable concentration to somehow keep this ball from hitting the ground:

Wow. How Rutschman manages to stay with the ball after that bobble, I don’t know. Credit to him for salvaging the accident and keeping the easy out in the Orioles’ back pocket. For his own efforts, Henderson would later hit his first-ever home run at Camden Yards:

While Baltimore would eventually lose 3-2, it certainly wasn’t because two of their bright young players didn’t come to play.

Former Auburn signee makes smashing Major League debut

Gunnar Henderson, an Auburn signee from the 2019 class, had an incredible debut for the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday.

A former Auburn baseball signee began his Major League Baseball career with a bang on Wednesday night.

Selma native and 2019 Mr. Baseball for the state of Alabama, [autotag]Gunnar Henderson[/autotag], made his much-awaited debut for the Baltimore Orioles Wednesday and did not disappoint. In his second at-bat, he crushed a 2-2 slider over the right field wall to extend the Orioles’ lead to 2-0 over the Cleveland Guardians in the 4th inning.

Henderson singled in the 9th inning for his second hit of the game, ending his first MLB appearance by going 2-for-4 at the plate.

He signed with Auburn originally before the Orioles selected him with the 42nd overall pick. Henderson elected to take the professional route after being offered a $2.3 million signing bonus.

Henderson was named Mr. Baseball in 2019 by the Alabama Sports Writers Association after a stellar senior season where he hit .559 with 11 home runs, nine triples, 17 doubles, and an astonishing 75 RBI with 32 stolen bases for Morgan Academy.

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Gunnar Henderson homered on his first MLB at-bat and hilariously lost his helmet before rounding the bases

The home run? Great. The hair? Absolutely glorious.

All Gunnar Henderson wanted was a cheeseburger. Now he’s running around Cleveland like a madman.

On second thought, that’s not such a bad thing. Not for Henderson or the Baltimore Orioles, who called up their top prospect earlier on Wednesday and promptly tossed him in the six-spot on their lineup card.

In his first at-bat in the Major Leagues, Henderson proved he’s more than ready for The Show by launching an absolutely ridiculous blast out to centerfield for a home run. The rookie was +560 to go yard on Wednesday and made oddsmakers look like fools for setting his line that high.

The ball went 429 feet and cleared the fence easily. More difficult was Henderson’s ability to keep his helmet on as he rounded the bases—he swung so hard it flew off before he even left the batter’s box.

Baseball fans couldn’t stop gushing over the Orioles’ newest star.

Gunnar Henderson was waiting on his burger order when he was told about Orioles call-up

These moments NEVER get old.

There are few moments in baseball that are better than seeing a minor-league player find out his MLB dreams are about the be realized. And sure, these are personal moments for every player, but us fans selfishly love to see that genuine reaction of surprise and joy play out.

Thankfully, the Baltimore Orioles had a camera ready for when infield prospect Gunnar Henderson heard the big news on Wednesday. How else would we know that he had a burger order waiting when he was called into the manager’s office?

Henderson — who is hitting .288 in Triple-A with 11 home runs — thought he was called in for a routine check-in chat with manager Buck Britton. It seemed basic enough: Henderson talked about his burger, Britton went over the week’s positional plans. That was when Britton said they were scrapping those plans because Henderson had to get packed to head to Cleveland.

Nicely done. There was a little bit of misdirection, but nothing over the top to mess with the player’s emotions. Britton got to the point and let Henderson enjoy the life-changing news.

And yes, he got his two bacon cheeseburgers.

That’s what everyone wanted to hear.