The standout sophomore owns the single season shortstop home run record.
The Baltimore Orioles appear set up as competitors in the American League East for years to come with a young core of super talented players. From that group, Gunnar Henderson has established himself as the face of the Orioles, as the star shortstop has been sensational in his first two full seasons with the team. Now a former face of the franchise has recognized Henderson’s prodigious talent.
Henderson hit a home run in the first inning of Wednesday’s game against the Chicago White Sox. It was his 35th homer of the season, which sets the franchise record for home runs by a shortstop in a single season. Orioles great Cal Ripken Jr. reacted to the incredible accomplishment by reposting MLB’s clip of Gunnar’s long ball with the grinning face and collision emojis on X.
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Gunnar Henderson now holds the single-season home run record by an @Orioles shortstop with 35!
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Ripken Jr.’s reaction is all the more impressive considering Henderson broke his record. Heading into play on Wednesday Henderson, Ripken Jr. and Miguel Tejada were tied for the most home runs by an Orioles shortstop in a season with 34, according to MLB on X. Ripken hit 34 homers in 1991 and Tejada tied him in 2004. Now the Orioles have a new leader.
Henderson has been a revelation for the team since taking over starting shortstop duties last season. He finished eighth in MVP voting and took home AL Rookie of the Year honors in 2023 when he had 29 doubles, 28 home runs, 82 RBI, 100 runs scored, an .814 OPS and an OPS+ of 125.
Gunnar Henderson is powering the Orioles to the postseason
This season, Henderson has been even better. He’s up to 25 doubles, 35 homers, 84 RBI, 107 runs scored and 17 stolen bases with a .905 OPS, an OPS+ of 156 and 8.0 bWAR in 138 games for the Orioles.
The record-setting dinger was Henderson’s ninth leadoff home run of the season, which is the second-best mark behind Kyle Schwarber’s MLB record-tying 13 leadoff homers. Schwarber reached the feat, tying Alfonso Soriano for the all-time record, in the Philadelphia Phillies 4-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday.
As Henderson rises to stardom, Ripken Jr. appears ready to pass the torch. The Hall of Famer had long been the face of the Orioles. Like Henderson, Ripken Jr. was named AL Rookie of the Year. Cal also won AL MVP twice, along with two Gold Glove Awards, two Silver Sluggers and 19 career All-Star Games. Of course Ripken Jr. is best known for his incredible Iron Man streak of 2,632 consecutive games played for the Orioles.
Baltimore fans hope that Henderson becomes the next great Orioles shortstop. The 23-year-old sophomore is part of the youth movement the team is relying on to reach the playoffs for the second straight season after a six year layoff.
The Orioles have a half game lead over the second-place New York Yankees in the AL East entering play on Wednesday. The two teams have gone back and forth all season in a battle for the division crown. The Orioles are just 23-22 since returning from the All-Star break and have dipped to number five in the most recent MLB Power Rankings.
