Gunnar Henderson hit his 35th home run of the season on Wednesday, passing Baltimore Orioles royalty in the process.
With the first-inning blast, Henderson surpassed Cal Ripken Jr. and Miguel Tejada for the most home runs in a season by a shortstop in Orioles history. The three players entered Wednesday’s game tied for the all-time lead with 34 each.
The home run came with the Orioles trailing 1-0 to the Chicago White Sox in the bottom of the inning. With the count 3-1, White Sox starter Jonathan Cannon launched a 90 mph cutter over the plate. Henderson launched it into the right-center field bleachers for a solo home run.
Unfortunately for the Orioles, it was their only run of the day. The White Sox rallied to win 8-1. The loss left Baltimore tied for first place in the American League East with the New York Yankees.
Yet Henderson continues to make his mark on the franchise record books in just his second full MLB season. Henderson won the 2023 American League Rookie of the Year Award with a .255/.325/.489 slash line with 28 homers, 82 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. He’s surpassed all of those numbers in a sophomore effort that has produced a .280/.367/.536 slash line with 35 homers, 84 RBIs and 17 stolen bases. He’s now passed Ripken and Tejada in the record books with 21 games remaining in the season.
“It’s definitely something I’m going to keep in mind in my life.” Henderson said after the match“To surpass those guys in any aspect of Orioles history is something very special.”
The next goal is to help lead the Orioles to the playoffs, where Henderson can make his mark in the postseason record books.
