Baltimore Orioles infielder Gunnar Henderson didn’t wait long to reward fans for their patience & excitement after being called up on Wednesday afternoon. After flying out deep to the left field corner foul in his first at-bat (which also turned into a double play thanks to a Ryan Mountcastle TOOTBLAN for the ages, but that’s neither here nor there), Henderson stepped into the box for at-bat number two and turned around this Triston McKenzie slider and launching it 429 feet into the right-centerfield stands.
The flow is just as beautiful as the swing. pic.twitter.com/t7pcLrOmJO
— MLB (@MLB) August 31, 2022
He received his first Home Run Chain adornment from none other than Adley Rutschman, and Orioles fans all over the Birdland diaspora swooned in unison.
Also, for some reason, shaggy-haired Orioles rookies can’t seem to get helmets that fit. We all remember Kyle Stowers‘ dramatic first home run last week, during which his too-large helmet was covering his eyes during his trot. Gunnar decided just to lose the damn thing immediately and bless MLB with his amazing flow.
Gunnar Henderson is the 10th player in Orioles/Browns/Brewers (1901!) franchise history with a HR in his MLB debut
at 21 years & 63 days old, he's the youngest to do so, surpassing 21-year, 77-day old Davy Jones for the club as the Brewers in 1901 https://t.co/ymU4UpBJfC
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) August 31, 2022
The Orioles are currently leading the Guardians 2-0 in the bottom of the fifth, looking to even the series in Cleveland and set up a rubber match on Thursday.
