Orioles’ Henderson needs postseason series win for greater acclaim

When the American League Most Valuable Player Award results are announced on November 21st, Gunnar Henderson should finish among the leaders.

By Baseball Reference’s WAR (Wins Above Replacement), the Orioles’ shortstop was the fourth-best player in the major leagues. His 9.1 WAR trails only New York’s Aaron Judge, Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr. and the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani.

Using FanGraphs’ measurement, Henderson is rated fifth, with the Yankees’ Juan Soto ahead of him.

Offensively, Henderson’s first half was wonderful. He became the youngest player to hit 10 home runs before May 1^st and headed to the All-Star Game in Arlington, Texas with a .287 average and a .956 OPS. He had 28 home runs and 63 RBIs.

He was chosen to participate in the Home Run Derby and put a lot of energy into his preparation as the Orioles imported Triple-A Norfolk manager Buck Britton to pitch to him before they headed to Texas.

Henderson didn’t win the Home Run Derby, and when he didn’t hit a home run in the second half until August 4^th, fans blamed the Derby for ruining his swing.

The Dodgers’ Teoscar Hernández, who won the Derby, and Witt, who finished second, both improved their performances in the second half after hitting well in the Derby.

At the All-Star break, Henderson, who hit his 28^th in the final game of the first half, led Anthony Santander by four home runs, but Santander hit 20 home runs in the second half of the season while Henderson had just nine.

While Henderson’s power numbers (nine homers, 29 RBIs) weren’t terrific in the second half, his other numbers weren’t bad. He hit .273 with a .352 on-base percentage and a .799 OPS.

Henderson played 159 games. Only Witt, Boston’s Jarren Duran and New York’s Anthony Volpe played more.

If there’s a misgiving about Henderson, it’s about his fielding at shortstop, though BaseballReference awards him a 1.5 Defensive WAR, though he made 25 errors, which led the American League.

Henderson committed three errors in his first 13 games, then went 32 games until his fourth. More than a quarter of his errors, seven were made in a seven-game span, from July 25^th-July 31^st.

He made just two errors in 27 August games, and made four more in seven games from September 3^rd-9^th.

In the two games the Orioles lost to Kansas City in the Wild Card, Henderson was hitless in seven at-bats while Witt was 3-for-9 and drove in two crucial runs—one in each game. In last season’s Division Series loss, Henderson was 6-for-12 against Texas.

Witt and Henderson are often grouped together. Though they were taken in the same draft, Henderson is 23, a year younger. Witt was drafted second overall by the Royals, just behind Adley Rutschman while Henderson was a steal as the 42^nd pick.

One of the best parts of a World Series is seeing great players on that stage for the first time. The attention on Judge and Ohtani is deserved.

There’s something missing from a star players’ resume if they don’t get to play in the World Series. While Henderson and Witt played in the postseason this year, Witt for the first time and Henderson the second, they’ll be missing something if they don’t play in a Series.

“It’s cool to have a guy that you played with throughout the high school circuits and even into pro ball is cool,” Henderson said. “It’s fun watching him out there.”

Henderson and Witt never played against each other until they were in the majors.

“We always played on the same side because we were in the same [geographic] region,” Henderson said.

The Henderson vs. Witt storyline was much more subdued than Judge vs. Ohtani, but it will be a fun one to watch in the coming years.

Rays uncertainty

Hurricane Milton caused severe damage to the roof of Tampa Bay Rays’ home, Tropicana Field. Estimates are still being made on how much it would cost for it to be repaired and whether the Rays could play there at all in the 2025 season.

Commissioner Rob Manfred says that baseball needs an answer by Christmas.

The Rays are planning to build a new stadium in St. Petersburg, next to Tropicana Field. That facility should be ready for the 2028 season.

Tampa Bay will need a home if the Trop isn’t ready for Opening Day, and could need one for all of 2025 and possibly 2026 and 2027 if it’s too costly to make the needed repairs.

Possibilities include Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, which seats 11,000, BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater, which seats about 8,500 and TD Ballpark in Dunedin, which can hold 8,000.

Each of those parks hosts spring training and minor league games, and Manfred says both the major and minor league schedules could be adjusted.

The Orioles are scheduled to play at the Rays on June 16^th-19^th and July 18^th-20^th.

Call for questions: I answer Orioles questions most weekdays. Please send yours to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com.